At least 3,000 families have been affected by the fire that broke out at a slum in Dhaka’s Mirpur area late on Friday (Aug 16), said fire service officials.
“There were 500 to 600 shanties at the slum from which we were able to save some but the fire affected 3,000 families,” said Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Director Md Rezaul Karim at a media briefing on Saturday (Aug 17).
“It took 20 firefighting units more than 3 hours to douse the flames. No death was reported while four of our members were injured in the incident,” said Karim.
The massive fire turned thousands of the lower-income slum residents homeless and left nothing for them other than charred valuables, and despair.
Rezaul Karim said there were combustible substances in the shanties while the gas connection was in a vulnerable condition.
All of these helped the blaze spreading fast to adjacent shanties, he added.
When asked if an inquiry committee has been formed, Karim said, “Fire service authority will launch a five-member probe body over the incident later in the day."
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman visited the spot on Friday night.
The mayor said with the help of other authorities they would take whatever steps necessary to assist the affected people.
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