C T Online Desk: The fire service on Friday morning announced to have completely extinguished a massive fire at Dhaka’s Mohammadpur Krishi Market that ravaged hundreds of shops after 28 hours of hectic efforts.
The fire broke out at the market around 3:43am on Thursday. It was brought under control around 9:25am; however, small fires were still burning at various spots.
After thoroughly inspecting each shop and area, the fire service announced that the fire had been completely put out by 7:30am on Friday, confirmed Fire Service and Civil Defence Duty Officer Khaleda Yasmin.
“Firefighting units arrived at Krishi Market at 3:52am to control the blaze, soon after the fire broke out at 3:43am on Thursday. A total of 17 firefighting units managed to bring the fire under control nearly five and a half hours later,” Khaleda Yasmin said.
“Members of the police, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ansar joined the fire service in bringing the fire under control,” she added.
Earlier, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director (Operation and Maintenance) Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said that initially the market’s security guards were not found at the site.
Later, fire service personnel had to break its collapsible gate to enter, he said.
“While there was a shortage of water on the one hand, the enthusiastic crowd made the firefighting more challenging,” he added.
He mentioned that one fire service official suffered minor injuries due to smoke inhalation, but there were no major casualties.
“Preliminary findings suggest the fire might have been caused by a short circuit,” said Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, adding that an investigation committee will provide a definitive reason for the fire and the extent of damage in due course.
A fire service official on duty at the scene said that each spot of Krishi Market was searched after the fire was brought under control.
Given the presence of tin, wood and various flammable materials, and reports of multiple explosions, which are believed to have originated from air conditioners, extensive searches were conducted to ensure no small fires or embers remained, he said.
“Only when the fire service was sure that there were no remnants of the fire did they announce that it had been fully extinguished,” he added.
Meanwhile, the fire service announced the formation of a probe committee, headed by Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, late on Thursday, asking it to submit its report within 15 working days.
