Home Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Thursday instructed to form a high-powered committee to probe the secretariat fire saying the real cause of the fire would be known through an investigation.

"We can't say anything whether the fire was sabotage or accidental without conducting an investigation," he said replying to a question while visiting the fire site.

The fire that broke out at the number 7 building of the secretariat, was already brought under control, fire fighting sources confirmed.

Jahangir said he has already instructed to form a high-powered committee to probe the fire incident. 

The committee members could stand at five, seven, nine or eleven, he said.

The home adviser also said an accident may happen in any place including the Secretariat.

He said the fire broke out on the sixth floor of the number 7 building at the secretariat and then it spread to the seventh and eighth floor.

The fire engines reached the place of occurrence at 1:54am within two minutes after it had received the information and brought the fire under control at 8:05 in the morning, Jahangir added.

A firefighter (Soanur Zaman Nayan) was critically injured when a speeding truck hit him as he was crossing the road with a pipe in front of the Secretariat, he also said.

He was rushed to the hospital where the on-duty physicians pronounced him dead, the home adviser said.

The namaz-e-janaza of Nayan will be held at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters after Zohr prayer.

The home adviser will be present at his Janaza.