An increasing number of fire incidents or explosions originating from cylinder gas leakage or defective burners that have killed and injured many people in recent days raise an alarm bell about public safety.

Authorities said that they had investigated several such explosions or fire incidents originating from liquefied petroleum gas contained in cylinders in recent times and had intensified their monitoring.

Such a fire or explosion from the cylinder got fresh attention after incidents were reported in Dhaka and Gazipur.

In the latest incident on Wednesday, at least four people were badly burned and hospitalised in an explosion from a fire that originated from a leakage of a gas cylinder at the Shahjalal Hotel and Restaurant in the capital’s Malibagh.

On March 13, at least 35 people were injured in another explosion from a cooking gas cylinder at a workers’ colony next to the Top Star Garment Factory at Kaliakair in Gazipur.

As of Friday, 14 of them died while undergoing treatment at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Eight of the13 victims undergoing treatment at the institute were in critical condition, while the hospital authorities discharged five injured victims.

Gazipur fire service deputy director Abdullah Al Arifin told New Age last week that the knob of a gas cylinder got opened while it was being connected to a stove in a house, causing the gas to leak.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence documented 210 such fire incidents or explosions in 2023 that left at least four dead and 23 injured. The number of such incidents was 14 in 2022, which injured 46. Similarly, 57 such incidents were recorded in 2021, injuring 15. In 2020, fire officials recorded 39 incidents that left two dead and 14 others injured.

Md Easir Arafat Khan, an associate professor at the chemical engineering department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, observed that most of the fire incidents and explosions were related to gas leakage from the cylinder and blamed the poor quality of the burner and accessories required for cooking.

He said that an explosion of an LPG cylinder was unlikely, but people were exposed to fire due to leakage of gas due to poor maintenance.

Arafat added that strict oversight, mainly by the Department of Explosives, might improve the overall situation.

The explosives department, which runs under the power, energy, and mineral resources ministry, monitors the implementation of the Gas Cylinders Rules, 1991, and the LPG Rules, 2004 (amended up to 2016), among others, to ensure the safety of the user.

Some 30 companies currently import, market, or distribute LPG cylinders as sources of alternative cooking energy in places where the supply of natural gas is not available.

As of 2020, the government estimated some 2.5 crore liquefied petroleum gas cylinders in household use.

According to the Department of Explosives, 1,50,386 LPG cylinders were imported between October 2022 and May 2023, and some 5.09 lakh non-LPG cylinders were imported between July 2022 and May 2023.

Monira Yesmine, the deputy chief inspector of the explosives agency, said that they tried to find the actual cause of fire incidents linked to gas cylinders, and in most of the cases, she said, those incidents were related to gas leakage, mainly due to substandard burners and accessories that were connected to the cylinder.

She said that keeping gas cylinders close to a burner was one of the major reasons behind fire or explosion incidents.

Monira also blamed a lack of awareness and poor handling of cylinders and burners in many cases.

As part of monitoring, the explosives department sent a letter to all companies on March 11 to prepare lists of cylinders distributed at the retailer level.

Similarly, the department, in another letter on March 18, urged all LPG companies to inscribe safety instructions on the cylinders so that users could be more careful while using them.

Demand is high for LPG despite the increasing price, and the risk is also high, said Mahbub Alam, a retailer in Dhanmondi.

Fire service authorities also intensified their monitoring with their limited resources.

Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, the director for operation and maintenance at the fire service, told New Age that their 268 inspectors throughout the country were checking the violation of the Bangladesh Fire Prevention and Dousing Act 2003 against building owners.

The fire inspectors advise the landowners to rectify and circulate notices mentioning the time bar, and after several advice and notices, they go with the mobile court and file a case in extreme cases, he said.

He added that fire stations also go for counselling once a week in their respective areas.

‘We provide inquiry report recommendations to the ministry and concerned organisations.’