Five business establishments were gutted in a fire at Gazir Bazar in Kachua upazila of Chandpur early Saturday.
The fire broke out around 2:30am, and 8-10 people were reportedly injured while trying to douse the blaze.
Mohammad Helal Uddin, leader of Kachua Fire Service and Civil Defence said that firefighters rushed to the spot after receiving the information and brought the fire under control after about an hour of efforts.
He said the fire was initially suspected to have originated from an electrical short circuit, but the actual cause would be known after an investigation.
Ashrafpur Union Parishad Chairman Maulana Rezaul Helal, who visited the spot Saturday morning, said the gutted establishments belonged to Mizanur Rahman, Zainal Abedin and Babul Mia, all grocery shop owners, Amir Hossain, a tea shop owner, and Abul Bashar, a furniture shop owner.
Local traders, including Mizan, said they had closed their shops as usual on Friday night and returned home. After learning about the fire, they rushed to the market and joined locals in trying to put out the blaze.
Chairman Rezaul Helal said a list of the gutted establishments and affected traders was being prepared and would be sent to the upazila administration.
He said the preliminary estimate put the damage at around Tk 50 lakh.