Notice soon asking owners to submit building safety docs: Mayor

The authorities will soon issue a notice asking owners to submit documents related to their buildings safety measures in 10 days, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam said today.

He came up with the information while talking to reporters after visiting the fire affected FR Tower in Dhaka’s Banani this morning.  

If anyone fails to comply with the notice by the deadline, action will be taken against the building owners, the mayor said. 

Mobile court teams will be sent to the buildings after the notice is issued, said Mayor Atiqul.

“If the mobile court teams do not find any existence of fire safety and building safety measures, then they will take necessary steps,” he warned. 

A deadly fire broke out at the FR Tower around 12:50pm yesterday, leaving 25 people killed and around 100 others injured.

Several hundred people were trapped inside the building when the fire broke out. Many of them screamed for help, waving hands and cloths on different floors as hundreds of onlookers crowded the adjacent Kemal Ataturk Avenue.

The blaze was doused around 7:00pm after a six-hour hectic effort. Firefighters were yet to know the cause of the fire that erupted on the 6th floor. It spread quickly to other floors of the building that houses a food court and dozens of offices.

The incident took place a little over a month after a fire killed at least 70 people in Old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area.