Hazaribagh leather warehouse fire extinguished, fire safety negligence highlighted

A fire broke out at a leather warehouse in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh on Friday afternoon, but it was brought under control after several hours of effort, according to Fire Service officials.

The blaze, which started around 2:14 pm on the fifth floor of the building, was extinguished around 7:00 pm after a significant response from the fire department and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

Lt. Colonel Md. Tajul Islam, Director (Operations and Maintenance) of the Fire Service, stated that the fire was difficult to control due to the presence of flammable materials in the building. He also emphasized that the building had no fire safety plan in place, despite the Fire Service having issued several notices to the building's owner, which were ignored.

Lt. Colonel Tajul Islam also said that it took three hours to control the fire, with the full capacity of the Fire Service being hampered by water shortages, narrow access roads, the presence of onlookers, and the inflammable substances inside the building.

The cause of the fire remains unclear, and an investigation committee has been formed to determine the exact cause, he added.