As a massive fire ravaged Bangabazar on Tuesday, engulfing thousands of shops at the famous clothing market in Dhaka, reports emerged suggesting that fire authorities had warned of the market’s susceptibility to such an incident.
Overview
On early Tuesday morning, hundreds of firefighters and armed force personnel undertook a six-hour-long operation to contain the Bangabazar fire. It was finally controlled at around 1 PM local time.
While eight were injured, no deaths have been reported yet. The cause of the fire also remains unknown.
However, an official from the market’s owners’ association said the fire destroyed at least 3,000 shops, mostly made of tin and wood.
The official said that the market had goods worth “hundreds of millions.” Shopkeepers had also made additional investments in extra stocks in the run-up to Eid Ul Fitr, which is just two weeks away.
#Bangladesh 🇧🇩 Dozens of stores were destroyed after a massive #fire broke out this morning in one of the largest fabric markets in the country, located in #Bangabazar , in the capital #Dhaka . No injuries reported, only material losses.
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) April 4, 2023
pic.twitter.com/5oFN5IpFKN
The Daily Star reported that the fire caused damage worth $1 million (~105 million takas).
The state minister for disaster management and relief, Md Enamur Rahman, announced rehabilitation for all the victims of the fire. The complex’s owner, the Dhaka South City Corporation, has formed a committee with eight members to assess the damage caused to the shopkeepers and present a report in three days.
Before the fire was controlled, a group of protestors, who were agitated about the authorities’ failure to control the fire, threw brickbats into the headquarters of the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters in Dhaka. Four security personnel were injured in the attack.
The department chief lamented the attack, saying, “I am very disappointed. We work for the people. We sacrifice our lives for the people … but they attacked us.”
Prior Warnings
(Images from My sources in )
— Ayanangsha Maitra (@Ayanangsha) April 4, 2023
MI 17 helicopter bucket is deployed for aerial water spraying at Fulbaria Bangabazar fire site in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Army, Air Force and Navy are in service, in addition to 47 units of fire brigade to douse the fire. pic.twitter.com/lMANgMDAm7
The Bangabazar was burnt down in 1996 too. In the past ten years, at least five to six small or medium-sized fires have broken out in the market.
In fact, in 2019, after Banani’s FR Tower fire, the market was declared a fire risk over its failure to abide by fire safety standards. A fire department official said the department hung a banner warning the shop owners and customers. It also notified the building authorities on “10 separate occasions.”
Concerningly, the Bangladeshi commercial garment industry has witnessed several significant fires in the past. However, the situation has relatively improved after authorities enhanced monitoring and fire safety protections and infrastructure.