By Dr. Easir Arafat Khan

Member, IEB Fire Investigation Committee 2019

A Modern Building, a Primitive Disaster

On the afternoon of March 28, 2019, a deadly fire erupted in the FR Tower, Banani, Dhaka — a 22-storey commercial high-rise that symbolized the city’s growing skyline. Within minutes, flames swept through multiple floors, trapping office workers and visitors.
By the time the fire was controlled, 25 people had lost their lives, and over 70 were injured.

In the aftermath, the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) formed a nine-member technical investigation committee to determine the engineering causes, design failures, and systemic weaknesses that turned a local fire into a national tragedy.

The findings revealed an unsettling truth — the building was designed for profit, not for life safety.

Engineering Analysis of the Incident

The committee reconstructed the fire progression based on structural examination, eyewitness accounts, and post-incident inspection.
The fire originated around the 8th floor, possibly due to an electrical fault, and spread vertically to the 9th and 10th floors.

But what made this fire catastrophic was not its source — it was the building’s failure to perform as any properly engineered structure should.

Key Engineering Failures

1. Unprotected Stairwells and Escape Routes

   • The staircases were not fire-rated or pressurized.

   • No smoke seals, fire doors, or emergency ventilation were provided.

   • As a result, smoke spread through the stairwell shafts, cutting off escape paths within minutes.

2. Absence of Active Fire Protection Systems

   • The building lacked a sprinkler system, smoke detectors, and alarm networks.

   • No automatic fire suppression or early detection mechanism was functional at the time of the fire.

   • The fire service had to rely on external hoses, which were unable to penetrate upper floors effectively.

3. Defective Vertical Compartmentation

   • Improper fire separation between floors and inadequate sealing around utility ducts allowed flames and smoke to move vertically.

   • PVC pipes and combustible materials were used in vertical shafts, violating standard codes and accelerating heat transfer.

4. Unsafe Materials and Cladding

   • Interior walls and ceilings were finished with synthetic panels and false ceilings that emitted toxic smoke upon burning.

   • The building envelope offered no fire resistance to delay structural failure.

Human Factors and Emergency Response Gaps

The IEB report found that most victims died from smoke inhalation — not burns — indicating that life safety design was neglected.

The building management had no emergency response plan, no fire drill record, and no evacuation signage.
Occupants were unaware of alternate exits or assembly points.
Several survivors reported that staircases were locked or obstructed, forcing people to jump from windows or seek rescue from rooftops.

Lessons Learned from Engineering Evidence

From an engineering standpoint, the FR Tower fire highlighted fundamental lessons for Bangladesh’s high-rise safety future:

• Life safety design must be integral, not optional.
  Fire-rated staircases, pressurization systems, and smoke control measures are as essential as structural design.

• Every building must have active fire systems.
  Sprinklers, alarms, and smoke detectors are basic life-saving technologies — their absence in a 22-storey tower is indefensible.

• Vertical compartmentation and material control save time and lives.
  Using non-combustible materials and sealing duct penetrations can delay fire spread by critical minutes.

• Periodic safety audits and maintenance are mandatory.
  Even a well-designed system fails without regular testing and drills.

• Coordination among design, supervision, and approval authorities must be transparent and enforceable.

From Concrete to Conscience

The FR Tower fire was not a mystery of chemistry or chance — it was a failure of engineering conscience.
It revealed the dangerous gap between what we build and how safely we build it.

Every modern structure stands as a test of our professional ethics.
To ensure no future skyline becomes a monument of neglect, Bangladesh must institutionalize engineering accountability, code enforcement, and a culture of prevention.

Author Bio

Dr. Easir Arafat Khan
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET
Process Safety and Fire Risk Specialist
Member, IEB Technical Committee on Fire Safety and Investigations