Fire at BM Depot Not Extinguished Even after 60 Hours

The fire at the BM container depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram was under control after 60 hours but has not been fully extinguished yet. Fire service personnel are trying to put out the fire completely. Army members are also working on the spot.

The fire service says several firefighters are tired of working. They are tired of the intensity of the fire even after sharing the duty.

Purna Chandra Mutsuddi, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, confirmed the matter on Tuesday (June 6) morning.

He said the fire at BM Depot has not been extinguished yet. Our team is working. Now we are working according to rotation. It will take time to put out the fire completely.

He added that it takes a long time to set up a container. The door cannot be opened due to heat of fire after unloading. It can be seen that in most cases the door iron has become bigger. Then the door has to be cut. It also takes a long time to cut a steel door. Then they have to put out the fire with water. The work could have been done faster if a few more container movers had been found.

An army team has been working to control the fire since last Sunday (June 5).

Fire service members said the fire was still burning inside 28 containers. The containers are heated. There are also containers filled with chemicals. However, they have not been identified yet. They are trying to control the fire by opening the doors of the burning containers which are believed to contain export garments.

They also said that they are trying to bring the fire under control as they have not been able to identify the 12 risky chemical containers yet.

At around 9 am today, five large units of the fire service were seen working on fire control. Four chemical containers have been removed to a safe place. However, the fire service says that even if the containers are removed, there is a risk of them exploding later.

After controlling the main fire, the expert unit of the fire service will work with this container containing chemicals.

Md Akhtaruzzaman, assistant director of the Greater Cumilla Fire Station, said the containers that are now burning are not extinguished because they contain garments. That's why we have to get up to speed. But I hope the fire will come under control by today. Once the fire is extinguished, rescue operations will be carried out by entering there directly. If there is anybody, it will be recovered.

The fire broke out inside the BM container depot loading point at around 9 pm on Saturday (June 4). While working on fire control, a container containing chemicals exploded with a loud sound.

The blaze has so far killed 41 people, including nine firefighters. More than four hundred were injured.