Melting of raw sugar intensified warehouse fire in Chattogram, says fire service

Crude sugar is a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Both carbon and oxygen help to ignite fire

The fire service says it is taking time to completely extinguish the fire at the S Alam Group sugar warehouse in Chattogram due to the carbon and oxygen contained in the raw sugar stored at the location.

The fire is still burning 20 hours after its origin at the warehouse in Karnafuli Upazila’s Ichapur. The fire was brought under control after six hours of effort but 10 firefighting units are still working to put it out completely.

“Crude sugar, a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, was stored at the burning warehouse. Both carbon and oxygen help to ignite fire. At temperatures above 350 degrees Celsius, raw sugar melts and turns into volatile chemicals,” said Abdullah Harun Pasha, deputy assistant director of the Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence.

“We are now trying to douse the blaze with water.”

The blaze erupted at warehouse No. 1 of the S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Limited around 4 pm on Monday. Fifteen firefighting units took control of the fire around 10:30 pm. The Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force joined the fire service teams afterwards.”

The fire was spotted around 400 feet away from the main entrance of the 65,700-square-foot warehouse. The entire road from the entrance to the warehouse was covered with mud-like liquid caused by the melting of raw sugar.

Fire service personnel are using water to douse the blaze. They covered the warehouse’s entrance with sand to prevent the fire from spilling over.

“We (The S Alam Group) are trying to douse the fire and stop it from spreading to the mill and other warehouses,” said the company’s Chief Land Resources Officer Mostain Billah Adil.

Regarding suspicions of sabotage being responsible for the incident, Adil said, “The government formed a probe committee. Several government agencies, including the Fire Service and Civil Defence, are working to form another panel to investigate the incident. Our first priority is to protect the factory now.”

“Around 150,000 tonnes of raw sugar was stored at the warehouse. The estimated loss may surpass Tk 10 billion. The company has yet to confirm the total loss in the fire,” Adil added.

“The warehouse was full of raw sugar piled as high as a five-storey building. There were no reports of casualties. The emergency workers managed to stop its spillover,” said Fire Service official Pasha.