Home Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday said fire extinguishers should be installed by all, reiterating his call to increase awareness about the fire safety across the country.
“You all should have fire extinguishers in your homes and establishments. They are easy to install and use, and every household should have one,” he said while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat after inaugurating a fire drill at the Home Ministry.
Fire extinguishers can be used by anyone to extinguish flames in their homes before a fire spreads and the fire engines arrive, he added.
The home adviser said that the fire drill initiative started with the Home Ministry and will subsequently be conducted in the buildings of all ministries.
“You may recall that a fire broke out in the Secretariat a few days ago. We have planned to conduct fire drills in all the buildings within the Secretariat to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” he said.
The adviser further said that efforts are underway to raise awareness about fire safety among Secretariat staff as well as the general public across the country.
Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry and head of the high-powered committee investigating the Secretariat fire, Nasimul Ghani, said the fire drills are being carried out as part of the committee's recommendations.
“We are conducting these fire drills as a short-term measure to make people aware of fire safety,” he said.
In response to a question, he added that the probe report on the samples sent abroad to determine the cause of the Secretariat fire has not yet been received.