Photo : Collected
The frequency of fire incidents has risen alarmingly in the capital and elsewhere, resulting in more and more human casualties and financial losses. There were eight fire incidents from February 29 to March 24 that killed 62 people and injured many others. The deadliest one was the Bailey Road blaze in the capital on February 29, and it took 46 lives.
The Gazipur fire that broke out in a densely-populated colony in the Telirchala area of Kaliakair on March 13 due to a leak in a cooking gas cylinder claimed 16 lives.
Among the other incidents are the chemical warehouse fire in Dhaka’s Chawkbazar, the S Alam sugar mill fire in Chattogram, the market fires in Uttara and Narayanganj, and the TK Group factory fire in Munshiganj’s Gajaria. The fires led to losses to the tune of crores of taka.
The exact causes of the fires could not be determined, but the fire service said investigations were going on. It also warned that there would be more fires in the future if cautions were not maintained.
Talha bin Jassim, a fire service official, told The Daily Messenger fires are more likely to break out between March and June. “We need to be extremely cautious in these months. But that does not happen. That is why fires keep occurring,” he said.
Talha further said now is the Eid season and warehouses have more goods than other times. “Those who are in charge of warehouses are often negligent. That is why more fires break out during this time.”
Last month’s inferno in Bailey Road broke out at a multi-storey building that housed several restaurants. Those sustaining burn injuries in the incident are still receiving treatment in the hospital.
Thirty-two people were burned in the March 13 fire caused by gas cylinder leakage in Gazipur. They received treatment at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, and 16 of them died.
On March 5, the S Alam Refined Sugar Industries warehouse in Icha Nagar of Chattogram caught fire. It took two days to fully extinguish the inferno, which burned about one lakh tonnes of sugar. 14 units of seven fire service stations along with members of the army, navy, and air force worked to douse the blaze.
A huge fire broke out at a market in sector 11 of Uttara on March 12. Nine units of the fire service worked to put out the blaze. But before the fire was brought under control, goods worth crores of taka in the shops were burned.
Two fires broke out on March 23 – one at a chemical warehouse in Chawkbazar and the other at a building in Gulshan. Nine firefighting units worked to put out the Chawkbazar fire, which caused huge financial losses.
A day later, two fires broke out in Narayanganj’s Rupganj and Munshiganj’s Gajaria. There were no human casualties in the Rupganj incident, but goods worth crores of taka were destroyed. 10 units of the fire service brought the fire under control.
The fire that broke out at a TK Group factory in Gajaria burned down more than 50 crore plastic doors, finishing boards, plywood, and other goods.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury told The Daily Messenger more people die from getting their windpipes damaged because of the smoke than burns when fires occur.
He said, “When there is a fire, the first thing to do is to find the exit. If you cannot get out of the building, try to get to the roof without panicking. We can rescue people from even 24-storey buildings. You just have to survive until the fire service arrives.”
Tajul also said fire safety lessons are still neglected in engineering education in Bangladesh. “In developed countries, fire safety is practiced from childhood. We need that here.”
Messenger/Fameema
