Shoe factory catches fire in Old Dhaka

Staff Reporter :
The old Dhaka is always considered as the tinderbox of fire incidents because of the presence of various combustible materials and goods in the warehouses and factories located in the densely populated area surrounded by zigzag narrow lanes.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out in a shoe warehouse at the business hub Alu Bazar in Old Dhaka on Thursday evening, creating a sense of panic among the local residents.
According to fire fighters, the blaze started around 5 pm on the fourth floor of a five-storied building where the shoe warehouse was housed.
Six firefighting units doused the fire around 5:35 pm, Anwarul Islam, Warehouse Inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters said.
The origin of the fire and the damage and loss of properties could not be known immediately. Even the human casualties were not known.
Whenever any fire incident takes place in Old Dhaka, it evokes the deadly memories of tragic fire incidents like Nimtoli chemical fire incident in 2010, Churihatta incident in 2019 and Devidwarghat incident in August 2022 in the last one era.
These fire incidents claimed the lives of countless people and left many other injured permanently and the victims could not efface the nightmare of the pains they experienced during the incidents.
Following such deadly incidents, fire fighters and experts opined that lack of awareness and monitoring, absence of firefighting equipment at the spots and senseless money making compromising the safety and lives of others.
The Nimtoli fire incident in a flammable chemical warehouse on 3 June 2010 claimed at least 124 lives and left hundred others injured.
The firefighters found it difficult to quell the blaze quickly because of the congested residential area laced by narrow lanes.
The entire area was blanketed by the dense black smoke and people were trapped in their buildings as a number of residential buildings were affected by the fire. The rescue operation continued for the following day.
The Nimtoli tragedy jerked the conscience of the society to relocate the chemical factories and warehouses from the residential areas. Various initiatives were taken for it, but it did not progress much.
The businesses of chemical materials have been continuing still with the risk of fire.
Then on 20 February 2019, another deadly fire incident took place at Hazi Wahed Mansion in Churihatta in Old Dhaka, leaving at least 71 people dead and scores others injured.
The fire originated on the first floor of the mansion where hundreds of flammable substances were stockpiled for wholesale.
In the recent time, on 15 August 2022, a fire broke out in a plastic factory located in the Devidwarghat area of Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka.
Fire fighters said that the blaze started from the ground floor of a hotel near the factory when a cylinder exploded.
The fire fighting units managed to control the fire after about two and a half hours of frantic efforts.
Following the fire incident, six charred bodies had been found inside the restaurant.
Apart from the major fire incidents in Old Dhaka, minor fire incidents frequently take place because of the absence of fire safety measures and indifferent mindsets.
Experts suggested that regular monitoring from the concerned stakeholders and the government are necessary to combat the fire to a great extent.