The massive fire that broke out at Building no 7 of the secretariat in the early hours of Thursday (26 December) has left most of the administrative nerve centre without power, severely disrupting official activities.
The power supply remained disconnected across most buildings as of 1:15pm on Thursday, nearly 10 hours after the fire was extinguished.
The fire, which began early Thursday morning, required the concerted effort of 19 firefighting units to bring under control by 8:05am.
However, it was not completely extinguished until 11:45am, according to Fire Service official Talha Bin Jashim.
The secretariat houses several vital government offices, and the disruption affected the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Road Transport and Highways Division, Ministry of Finance, Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Local Government Division, Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Posts and Telecommunications Division, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Building no 7, where the fire occurred, is a nine-storey bloc that houses key offices, including one occasionally used by the head of government.
While some buildings used generators to continue operations, the majority of staff and officers were forced to abandon work.
Officials reported being unable to access their offices, and those who did enter the premises through Gate No. 5 had to leave shortly after due to the lack of electricity and access.
“A generator is turned on inside the Ministry of Information. They have an electricity connection, and we held a meeting there,” said an official.
Another employee said, “Our building did not catch fire, but the entire premises are under law enforcement control. We waited for a long time but eventually left due to the lack of electricity.”
“Most parts of our building were burnt. There’s no electricity inside, and a burning smell fills the premises. Official work has been completely halted," said another official.
Law enforcement personnel remain stationed at all five gates of the secretariat, questioning anyone attempting to enter and barring access to the damaged building.
The damage from the fire has raised significant concerns, as building no 7 houses critical government divisions and often hosts high-level operations.
Despite the use of generators in some offices, the broader power outage has stalled essential functions, underscoring the secretariat’s vulnerability to such incidents.
