Despite repeated explosions and fires at unauthorised chemical warehouses that have claimed dozens of lives, authorities have failed to bring the situation under control.
Although approval from four different government agencies is mandatory, chemicals are being stored indiscriminately in rented spaces without authorisation.
Once confined to the narrow lanes of Old Dhaka, such warehouses have now spread across the capital and other parts of the country, triggering frequent fires. Fire Service personnel continue to lose their lives while trying to bring the blazes under control.
Md Asadul Islam, an inspector at the Department of Explosives, told TIMES of Bangladesh that the warehouse in Mirpur’s Shialbari, where the devastating fire broke out on Tuesday, had been operating without approval.
“Hundreds of such unauthorised warehouses exist,” he said. “Chemical substances are being stored in places other than those specified in the licence, which is illegal.”
He added that, following crackdowns in Old Dhaka, many warehouses had been relocated to other areas, and operations to shut down unapproved sites were still continuing.
Officials at the Department of Explosives said fires in chemical warehouses are mainly caused by the presence of flammable substances, unsafe storage, and faulty safety systems. Chemicals such as bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide stored in these sites can easily ignite. Electrical short circuits and technical faults also cause fires. In the absence of effective monitoring, they said, such incidents continue to rise.
Bangladesh has witnessed a series of deadly fires linked to chemical storage. On 3 June 2010, a blaze originating from a warehouse in Old Dhaka’s Nimtoli killed 124 people. Nine years later, on 20 February 2019, another fire in Chawkbazar’s Churihatta area claimed 71 lives.
More recent tragedies include a fire in Tongi, near Dhaka, on 22 September that killed four people, including three fire fighters; a 2022 explosion in Sitakunda, Chattogram, that left over 50 dead; and another fire at Chattogram’s Sadarghat chemical warehouse. The latest incident, on Tuesday afternoon in Mirpur’s Rupnagar Shialbari, killed at least 16 people so far.
Former director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Brigadier General (retd) Ali Ahmad Khan said chemical warehouses require clearance from the Department of Environment, a trade licence from the city corporation, and final approval from the Fire Service and Department of Explosives following inspection.
“These risky warehouses are being established without anyone’s approval and without coordination among the authorities,” he said.
He added that while such warehouses were once concentrated in Old Dhaka, after several major incidents they have now spread nationwide. “City corporation inspectors and local representatives also share responsibility. Whenever a tragedy occurs, there is an uproar — and then everything is hushed up until the next disaster,” he said.
Following the Nimtoli tragedy, over 800 illegal chemical warehouses and factories were identified in Old Dhaka, and plans were made to relocate them to Keraniganj. However, the initiative was never implemented, and many warehouses still remain in operation.
Fire Service Director (Operation and Maintenance) Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said the Shialbari warehouse had no approval. “There may be many more such warehouses,” he said. “Property owners who rent out spaces for warehouses should check the licence and clearance documents before doing so.”
Since its establishment, 49 members of the Fire Service and Civil Defence have died while tackling fires. In the past decade alone, 24 firefighters have been killed and 386 injured — most while responding to fires at chemical factories and warehouses. Many lost their lives before realising the nature of the fires.
The deadliest single incident occurred in 2022, when 13 firefighters were killed in the explosion and fire at the BM Container Depot in Sitakunda, Chattogram. On 22 September this year, four more were burned while attempting to control a fire at a chemical warehouse in Tongi; three of them later died.
