Fire damages offices at Rooppur plant site

A fire damaged two to three rooms of an office building inside the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project site early Monday, a fire official said.

The fire broke out at about dawn on September 7 at Building 14/1, a tin-shed structure used as offices, said Mohammad Kajal Mia, senior station officer of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Modern Fire Station in Ishwardi, Pabna.

“It was only an office. There was no problem at the power plant,” Kajal told Daily Waadaa.

The affected rooms contained air conditioners, computers, laptops, official papers and other office materials. Kajal said the fire was likely caused by an electrical problem.

He said firefighters brought the blaze under control within about 30 minutes using four to five units.

“Two to three rooms were damaged,” he said, adding that the damage was limited to those rooms and their contents.

Kajal stressed that no other part of the facility was affected. All other services and areas of the project site were operating normally and work was continuing, he said.

The fire did not disrupt power plant operations, he added.

The incident damaged computers and official documents in the affected offices. It did not spread to other areas of the project site.

The incident comes as the start of electricity generation from Rooppur Unit-1 has already been delayed. The government had earlier targeted supplying around 300 megawatts to the national grid within four to six months of fuel loading, which began on April 28. But problems with two safety valves have held up the next stage of testing.

A recent BBC Bangla report said there is now no certainty that electricity will reach the grid this month. Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam also said he could not give a specific date, stressing that there was no scope for rushing the safety tests.