BB fire doused without major damage

A fire broke out on a floor of the Bangladesh Bank headquarters in the city's Motijheel last night, but was doused after an hour's efforts.

No one was hurt in the flame; only some furniture was damaged, said fire service officials.

The fire broke out on the 13th floor of the 32-storey building around 9:30pm. On information, 12 firefighting units rushed to the spot and doused the flames, Mahmudul Hasan, duty officer of the fire service and civil defence headquarters, told The Daily Star.

The cause of the fire could not be known immediately.

Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of fire service and civil defence, told journalists in front of the bank that a five-member committee headed by a deputy director of the department was formed to probe the incident. It was asked to submit its report in five working days.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, and other top officials of the central bank also rushed to the spot.

 Contacted, Abul Kalam Azad, a general manager of the bank, told The Daily Star that the 13th floor housed the foreign exchange policy department, which is responsible for formulating and implementing policies related to foreign exchange.