M Rahmat Ali

A devastating sequence of fires has rattled Bangladesh this week, exposing the fragile underbelly of its safety regime and sparking speculation over whether negligence alone can explain such deadly repetition. In just five days, three major blazes — at a garment factory and chemical warehouse in Mirpur’s Rupnagar, a facility in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone, and the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport — have killed at least sixteen people, paralyzed export operations, and reignited questions of accountability.
Officials confirmed that the Shahjalal airport blaze, which halted flights and damaged vital cargo facilities, is being investigated for possible sabotage. Senior commerce officials told local media that “every possibility, including sabotage” would be examined.

The reasoning is not unfounded: three fires in a single week, across sectors critical to trade, each involving hazardous materials and flawed safety systems, is no ordinary coincidence. Editorials in The Daily Star argued that whether these incidents were intentional or not, they have once again exposed the deep governance failures that continue to put lives and livelihoods at risk.
The Mirpur fire has been the most tragic. It tore through a building that housed both a garment unit and an unlicensed chemical warehouse, where investigators later found a locked rooftop door and stored chemicals so toxic that lethal gas lingered in the air days after the blaze.

Fire service officials quoted by Reuters suggested the speed and intensity of the inferno hinted at something more than a mere electrical fault.

The Daily Observer went further, describing the cluster of incidents as carrying “a shadow of conspiracy,” noting that the airport cargo blaze came barely a week after the facility had received a high global security rating from a UK agency.

Speculation over sabotage has found fertile ground amid Bangladesh’s volatile political climate. Analysts point out that an attack on an export hub like the airport cargo complex could deliver an economic blow just as the country’s garment sector enters its peak season. Delayed shipments and cancelled orders could easily ripple across the national economy. Some observers suggest that groups — domestic or foreign — who might benefit from undermining Bangladesh’s export credibility could stand behind such disruptions. Others believe rival political factions could exploit the chaos to challenge the interim government, while those in power might amplify the sabotage theory to shift blame away from weak regulation and enforcement.

Investigations have begun, but skepticism remains high.

According to bdnews24.com, the government’s core committee tasked with probing the three fires has been given more than two weeks to deliver its findings.

Few details about its membership or mandate have been released. This delay has raised fears that evidence could vanish and narratives could be shaped to protect vested interests. Editorial commentary in The Daily Star warned that unless the investigations reach the roots of mismanagement, “sabotage or not, the same failures will continue to cost lives.”

Observers say the problem goes far deeper than a single week’s tragedy. Many small garment factories, warehouses, and logistics firms operate under political protection, avoiding licensing, inspections, and zoning restrictions. In Mirpur, authorities admitted that the chemical warehouse had no official registration — an omission that is almost inconceivable without local complicity. Locked exits, missing hydrants, and inadequate fire-fighting infrastructure at the airport cargo area reinforce the view that negligence is structural, not accidental. Political patronage and corruption have long kept these hazards hidden in plain sight.

If the sabotage narrative dominates without addressing these systemic issues, accountability will again be reduced to rhetoric. It is far easier to blame faceless saboteurs than to confront the network of negligence and impunity that enables disasters to occur. Such avoidance has heavy costs. Each incident erodes confidence among global buyers who already view Bangladesh’s industrial safety record with caution. Export delays, lost contracts, and reputational damage can quickly accumulate into a crisis far greater than the physical loss of property.
For the government, the challenge now is to ensure that investigation means more than damage control. Probes must not only determine what ignited the fires but also why illegal warehouses were allowed to operate, why exits were sealed, and why oversight mechanisms failed yet again. If sabotage is proven, the perpetrators and their protectors must be named and prosecuted. If negligence is the cause, political accountability must reach beyond mid-level officials to the powerful figures who benefit from the status quo.
Whether these fires were coordinated acts or a grim convergence of carelessness, they have illuminated a disturbing truth: Bangladesh remains dangerously unprepared for the risks created by its own growth. The smoldering ruins of Mirpur and the charred cargo sheds of Shahjalal Airport stand as warnings that governance, not just fire, is consuming the nation’s hard-earned progress.

Without transparency, reform, and accountability, the next spark may again find the country unguarded — and the truth buried in smoke.