Open hearing tomorrow to determine origin of FR Tower fire

An open hearing the employees of the offices housed on the eighth to tenth floors will be held tomorrow to determine how the fire originated at FR Tower in Banani.

The nine-member probe committee of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief will hold the hearing at a police control room near FR tower from 10:00am to 12:00pm tomorrow, said Faizur Rahman, additional secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

Faizur Rahman said after two separate probe committees formed by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and Ministry of Home visited the fire-ravaged FR tower and inspected the floors that were most affected.

After inspecting eighth to twelfth floors, the committees briefed the media in front of the FR tower this morning and said the fire mainly damaged the 8th, 9th and 10th floors and only found evidence of smoke on the two other floors.

The committees are yet to determine how the fire originated or from where it started, said Faizur Rahman.

The probe committee of the Disaster Relief and Management ministry also said they found some firefighting equipment on the affected floors but they were found to be unused.

Meanwhile, Tarun Kanti Sikder, a member of the probe committee formed by the home ministry, said they found the fire exit to be only 24 inches.

Asked about the owner of the tower, Tarun Kanti Sikder said the developer company and the owner of FR tower have been called to the ministry of public works and housing.

The fire that broke out at Banani FR tower on Thursday has claimed the lives of 26 people so far and left around 100 injured.