Fire safety alert: Education directorate urges caution over fan, light switches at schools

It calls on teachers and officials to ensure that all electrical switches, lights, fans, computers and air conditioners are turned off before leaving the premises

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has issued a safety advisory urging teachers, officials and staff at educational institutions across Bangladesh to exercise caution in using electrical equipment following a spate of major fire incidents, including one at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

In a circular released on Sunday, the DSHE instructed all government and non-government educational institutions, as well as field-level education offices, to ensure that all electrical switches, lights, fans, computers and air conditioners are turned off, and AC plugs disconnected before leaving the premises.

The advisory comes amid heightened concern over fire safety standards following several recent blazes.

On Oct 14, at least 16 people were killed in a fire at a chemical warehouse in Mirpur’s Shialbari area. Two days later, a blaze at a factory in Chattogram’s Export Processing Zone took around 17 and a half hours to bring under control. Most recently, a massive fire at the cargo complex of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Oct 18 took 27 hours to be fully extinguished.