Electrical short-circuit caused Bashundhara City shopping mall fire, says Fire Service

The fire that burnt down several shops at Dhaka's Bashundhara City shopping mall may have been caused by an electrical malfunction, says the Fire Service.

Its Joint Director Ajit Kumar Bhawmik, who heads the five-strong investigation panel formed on the Aug 21 incident said, "Although the investigation is yet to conclude, preliminary findings indicate towards short-circuit," he said.

The fire at the mall, popular among Dhaka residents, had gutted almost 100 shops.

It took the fire-fighters two days to completely douse the fire, which started from a footwear store at level six and spread through the entire floor.

"We have spoken to 13 people so far, two of them are owners of shops and the rest are the mall's fire-fighting and security staff. We will speak to more owners," Bhawmik told bdnews24.com on Monday.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Md Ali Ahmed Khan blamed the mall's central air-conditioning system for spreading smoke.

Shutting down shops when the fire started also helped the flames to grow in intensity, he said.

Bhawmik said the absence of any 'tray' to carry the electrical cables exposed the wiring to the fire and helped the fire to spread.

Shop number 70 at level six had initially been identified to be the place from where the fire originated, but investigators are now concentrating on shop number 60.

The mall's Shop Owners' Association President MM Hannan Azad, responding to this development, said, "It was quite difficult to understand in the beginning."