Fire
Fire breaks out at glass factory in Keraniganj
A fire broke out at the One-Time Glass Factory in Della village in Keraniganj on Friday evening.
Md Raihan, Station Officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters, said the fire broke out in the factory in Della village around 7:07pm.
Read:7 burnt as fire breaks out in Narayanganj cotton factory
Being informed, five units of the Fire Service rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after an hour.
However, the source of the fire could not be known immediately. No casualties were reported.
Fire at Ctg Chamber of Commerce old building
A fire broke out at the old building of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce at Agrabad in the city on Thursday evening.
The fire broke out around 8:30 pm from an electric short circuit and spread throughout the six-storied building within a few minutes, said Faruq Sikder, assistant director of the Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defense.
Read: Bangladesh’s fire problem: 285,000 incidents occurred in 2 decades
Until writing this report 7 units of the Agrabad and Bandar fire service stations were trying to douse the fire with the help of locals.
Around 9:30 pm the flames were brought somewhat under control, said the fire service official.
So far, no casualties were reported and the amount of damage could not be ascertained immediately, said Faruq Hossain.
Jatrabari gas cylinder blast: Another victim dies, death toll now five
A man, who sustained burn injuries in a gas cylinder blast in the city’s Jatrabari area, died at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday night, raising the death toll from the incident to five.
The deceased was identified as Kabir Dewan, 38.
Read: Jatrabari gas cylinder blast: Death toll rises to 3
Kabir, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital with 85 percent burn injuries, breathed his last around 10:30 pm, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police outpost.
On Saturday afternoon, six people received burn injuries when a gas cylinder exploded in a shop in Sayedabad area of Jatrabari in the capital. They were all rushed to DMCH.
Read: 6 suffer burns in Jatrabari gas cylinder explosion
Of the victims, Robin was given first aid while the five others were undergoing treatment at the hospital as they received serious bun injuries.
Bishwanath Dutta, 48, died at the hospital on Sunday while Md Ripon, Shafiqul and Abdul Kalam succumbed to their injuries on Tuesday.
Bangladesh’s fire problem: 285,000 incidents occurred in 2 decades
The number of fire incidents in Bangladesh has increased four times over the last two decades as the country’s urban areas are expanding without basic infrastructure like fire stations.
According to data provided by the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 285,000 fires occurred in the country between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2020.
These fire incidents also caused an estimated financial loss of around Tk6,900 crore to the nation.
Besides, at least 2,308 people were killed in fires across the country between 2004 and 2020, the fire service data shows.
The year 2019 saw the highest number of 24,074 fire incidents while 2020 the second highest of 21,073.
Urban experts attributed the rise in fire incidents to unplanned urbanization, the violation of rules for constructing buildings, a pervasive culture of non-enforcement of the law, carelessness of people, increased use of gas cylinders and different electronic devices and lack of supervision by the authorities concerned.
They also said people in the capital and other major cities of the country are at the high risk of fires for lack of proper urban fire safety systems.
Read: Fire incidents in Bangladesh triple in 22 years
The experts suggested taking immediate initiatives to ensure safety compliance of city buildings like the garment factories and raising public awareness to significantly reduce the number of fires.
Three major causes
As per the statistics of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 99,752 fires occurred in the country between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020.
Of them, 71,684 or over 71 percent of fires originated from electric disturbances, different types of burners and burning cigarettes in the last five years.
Of the total incidents, 37,044 (37 percent) originated from electric disturbances while 19,124 (19.17 percent) from different types of burners and 15,536 (15.57 percent) from burning cigarettes.
Contacted, Prof Mehedi Ahmed Ansari of the Civil Engineering department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said electric short-circuit is the main reason behind the rise in fire incidents in urban areas as most buildings are not constructed maintaining the building code.
He said other reasons for the fire are associated with people’s lack of awareness. “An effective campaign to raise public awareness in this regard should be launched across the country.”
Read: Padma boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 4
The expert said electric equipment should be inspected periodically to reduce the chances of fire.
Fire burns down cotton factory and warehouse in Chandpur
A devastating fire in Chanpur Sadar upazila’s Dakshin Tarpurchandi village burnt to ashes a cotton factory and its warehouse on Wednesday.
The factory made cotton from jute fibre.
Read: Child burnt to death, 5 hurt in Chattogram fire
No casualties have been immediately reported.
According to the locals, five peoplec working inside the factory managed to escape to safety soon after the fire broke out.
However, the owner of the factory, Billal Mizi fainted and was taken to the district Sadar hospital.
Firefighter Zakir Hossain said that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit and it spread quickly.
Three units of the fire services managed to bring the fire under control at around 3 pm after two and a half hours of effort, he said
The owner of the factory, Billal Mizi, and his brother claimed that the initial loss was around Tk 30 lakh.
But fire services Deputy Assistant Directors Sahidul Islam and Zakir Hossain said that the amount of loss will be Tk 5 lakh.
Read: Fire engulfs chemical warehouse in Chattogram
Further investigation would be made, they said.
They further said that no permission or approval was taken from the fire services before the construction of this factory and warehouse.
Child burnt to death, 5 hurt in Chattogram fire
A five-month-old baby was burnt to death and five people suffered burn injuries as a fire broke out in Hathazari upazila of Chattogram on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Rakib.
Read: Fire engulfs chemical warehouse in Chattogram
The injured, who were from the same family, were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Hathazari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Rafiqul Islam said the fire broke out in a house in Rangipara Ward-1 in the early morning and gutted 20 houses.
Read:Fire that originated from warehouse in Chawkbazar building doused
The burnt child was rushed to CMCH where doctors declared him dead at noon.
According to fire services sources, the fire originated from a short circuit and two units of fire fighters brought the blaze under control after an hour of effort.
Fire engulfs chemical warehouse in Chattogram
A fire broke out at a chemical warehouse in Sadarghat of Chattogram city on Tuesday night.
The fire broke out at the warehouse around 8.10pm and spread within minutes because of the presence of chemical substances, said Newton Das of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defense.
Read: Fire that originated from warehouse in Chawkbazar building doused
On information, five fire tenders rushed to the spot but it took them nearly three hours to douse the flames.
The warehouse management is trying to ascertain the extent of the loss caused by the fire. "A probe has also been ordered to find out the exact cause of the fire," Newton said.
Fire that originated from warehouse in Chawkbazar building doused
A fire that broke out in a six-storey building in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar on Tuesday has been doused.
It took nine units of fire fighters two hours and a quarter to completely douse the fire, that originated in a warehouse for plastic goods on the third floor of the building around 4:30 pm.
Although no casualties have been reported, it once again exposed the vulnerabilities resulting from warehouses storing flammable items being located in an otherwise residential area, a frequent cause of fires in the area.
An estimate of losses and the reason behind the fire can only be determined through an investigation, said Ershad Hossain, duty officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters control room.
Chawkbazar multi-storey building catches fire
A fire broke out in a multi-storey building at Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire started on the third floor of the building around 4:30 pm and nine firefighting units are currently working to bring the blaze under control, said Dewan Azad Hossain, Duty Officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense control room headquarters.
There is a plastic warehouse on the 3rd floor of the building, he said.
Oil tanker explodes in Sierra Leone, killing at least 92
An oil tanker exploded near Sierra Leone’s capital, killing at least 92 people and severely injuring dozens of others after large crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel, officials and witnesses said Saturday.
The explosion took place late Friday after a bus struck the tanker in Wellington, a suburb just to the east of Freetown.
The mortuary at Connaught Hospital reported 92 bodies had been brought in by Saturday morning. About 30 severely burned victims were not expected to survive, according to staff member Foday Musa.
Also read: Huge fire extinguished at oil facility in southern Lebanon
Injured people whose clothes had burned off in the fire that followed the explosion lay naked on stretchers as nurses attended to them Saturday.
Video obtained by The Associated Press of the explosion’s aftermath showed a giant fireball burning in the night sky as some survivors with severe burns cried out in pain. Charred remains of the victims lay strewn at the scene awaiting transport to mortuaries.
President Julius Maada Bio, who was in Scotland attending the United Nations climate talks Saturday, deplored the “horrendous loss of life.”
“My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result,” he tweeted.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visited two hospitals overnight and said Sierra Leone’s National Disaster Management Agency and others would “work tirelessly” in the wake of the emergency.
Also read: Oil giants deny spreading disinformation on climate change
“We are all deeply saddened by this national tragedy, and it is indeed a difficult time for our country,” he said on his Facebook page.