The devastating fire incident in Green Cozy Cottage on Bailey Road that killed 46 people and severely injured over a dozen others on Thursday night comes as a sequel to some other man-made catastrophes in Bangabazar, Churidhatta, Banani FR Tower, and Moghbazar in the recent past.
Although this incident is different, the picture behind all the fire incidents is the same. As in the previous incidents, various allegations of mismanagement related to the building’s approval and fire safety plans have come up during the primary investigation.
The building owners obtained permission from the authorities to run office rooms. But they had rented the floors to restaurants, showrooms, and shops.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday criticized building owners for not following fire safety rules and expressed anger due to the lack of adequate fire safety measures.
Later in the day, police arrested three people, including two owners of Chumuk coffee shop on the ground floor from where the fire originated. Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Mahid Uddin, confirmed this information.
The arrestees are Anwarul Haque and Shafiqur Rahman, two owners of Chumuk, and Zainuddin Jisan, manager of Kacchi Bhai restaurant.
Police said the fire started at the food shop on the ground floor. The police will be the plaintiff in the case alleging negligent death in the fire incident.
Visiting the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, dead bodies were seen kept in bags, with relatives of the deceased mourning the tragic deaths of their loved ones. Some of the relatives went there after failing to identify the victims. The CID took DNA samples from them to identify four bodies.
Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said 46 people died in the fire incident, and the condition of the injured was critical.
The building was in danger of fire
Even though it was listed as a fire-hazard building, the operation of this seven-storey building was going on without any hindrances. The Fire Service issued notices three times, but the building authorities did not take up any fire safety plan.
According to the Fire Service, the building has eight floors with an area of about 2,000 square feet on each floor. The staircase is only four feet wide.
Even though the building was built as per the design, there was no fire safety plan or performance certificate. The building had no fire elevators. According to documents, the building had eight fire extinguishers, of which six are confirmed to be functional.
On September 5, last year, the managing director of Ambrosria Restaurant and Music Cafe was given a notice to take fire safety measures within 90 days. Captain Sardar Mizanur Rahman, Managing Director of Ambrosria Restaurant and Music Cafe, even signed an undertaking to ensure fire safety.
Regarding the fire safety plan, Director of the Dhaka Division of Fire Service and Civil Defence (Operation and Maintenance), Lt Col Tajul Islam, said that this building does not have a fire safety plan, even though it is on the vulnerable list. They did not even apply for it. Three notices were issued at different times.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) says there was no permission for restaurants and showrooms in the building.
Despite the fact that the Fire Service mentions that the basement is reserved for parking, there were a number of stores there, including a coffee shop.
Moreover, there were eight shops on the ground floor, a restaurant on the first floor, clothing shops on the second and third floors, and restaurants on the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh floors. Also, there were large gas cylinders weighing 35kg on the stairs of each floor. The eighth floor had staff rooms and a mosque.
Ashraful Islam, urban planner and director of the Detailed Area Planning (DAP) project at Rajuk, said that commercial approval was issued for the seven floors of the building only for office use. There was permission for residential construction on the eighth floor. No restaurant, showroom, sales centre, or anything else could run in the building.
After inspecting the accident site, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas said: "As far as we have come to know and see from our preliminary inspection and information, a lot of negligence has been done in the construction of this building. They have violated the building code. There is only one staircase, and it is not as wide as prescribed. As per the rules, buildings above five floors must have two staircases and another for emergency response.