Dhaka, March 5 -- The fire service says it is taking time to completely extinguish the fire at the S Alam Group sugar warehouse in Chattogram due to the carbon and oxygen contained in the raw sugar stored at the location.

The fire is still burning 20 hours after its origin at the warehouse in Karnafuli Upazila's Ichapur. The fire was brought under control after six hours of effort but 10 firefighting units are still working to put it out completely.

"Crude sugar, a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, was stored at the burning warehouse. Both carbon and oxygen help to ignite fire. At temperatures above 350 degrees Celsius, raw sugar melts and turns into volatile chemicals," said Abdullah Harun Pasha, deputy assistant director of the...