Fire-ravaged FR Tower had clearance for 18 floors, investigator says

The builders of the 23-storey FR Tower in Dhaka’s Banani had permission to construct up to 18 floors, a member of a committee that investigated the deadly fire in the high-rise has said.

The scene of the devastating fire in Dhaka's Banani is cordoned off with a yellow tape on Friday. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove The scene of the devastating fire in Dhaka's Banani is cordoned off with a yellow tape on Friday. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Fire crew working to douse the fire at the FR Tower in Dhaka's Banani on Thursday. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove Fire crew working to douse the fire at the FR Tower in Dhaka's Banani on Thursday. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

The commercial building has five of its top floors constructed illegally in breach of the plan cleared by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha or RAJUK, according to the investigator.

Rupayan Housing Estate, which constructed the tower on a piece of land owned by an engineer, SMHI Faruque, earlier claimed they had RAJUK’s permission to build up to 23 floors.

Rupayan and Faruque sold the floors to different organisations after the construction completed in 2005.

Different irregularities in constructing and managing the office tower are surfacing after it went up in flames on Mar 28, killing at least 26 people and injuring over 50 others.

The home ministry, RAJUK, housing and public works ministry, disaster management and relief ministry, Fire Service and Civil Defence and the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh had launched separate investigations.

Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansary of the Bangladesh Network Office for Urban Safety or BNUS at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, or BUET, is a member of the RAJUK investigation team.

Speaking to bdnews24.com on Thursday, he said RAJUK papers made it evident that FR Tower’s design was for 18 floors.

“We brought all the papers related to the building from RAJUK. These show that it had clearance for two basement floors and 18 storeys above the ground,” Ansary said.

The committee headed by a RAJUK member, Shamsuddin Ahmed, submitted its report to the chairman of the capital’s development agency earlier in the day to become the first team to complete the investigation.

The other members on the committee are RAJUK Chief Engineer Abdul Latif Helaly, Dhaka North City Corporation Additional Chief Engineer Syed Qudratullah, and Professor Ishtiaque Ahmed of BUET’s civil engineering department.

They visited the tower on Monday and Tuesday and conducted tests on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors that suffered most damage in the fire.

Their report will be forwarded to Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim, RAJUK officials said.

RAJUK Chairman Md Abdur Rahman said he had received the report, but declined revealing the findings of the committee.

Fire crew working to douse the fire at the FR Tower in Dhaka's Banani on Thursday. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

The columns and beams on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors have developed cracks and reinforcement steel can be seen as concrete casting in some places were damaged, a member of the committee said, requesting anonymity.

The high-rise has a fire escape but the staircases are very narrow and not accessible to all as some of these lead to offices on some floors from where the exits are difficult to find.

The building also did not have any fire-rated door to prevent victims from fire and smoke, which made the fire escape risky, the investigators found.    

“These two issues are very important. Firstly, the occupants had no access to the fire exit and secondly, there was no fire door. That’s why most of the people died from smoke,” the committee member said.

It has made four recommendations. These include detailed engineering assessment of the building’s structure, fire safety system, and electrical connections within 45 days.

It recommended completing repair work of the building within 150 days following the assessment.

The committee says the building should not be used before the two recommendations are implemented.

It will be possible to use the FR Tower after the repairs, Dr Mehedi said.