Late-Night Fire in Gazipur's Sreepur Burns a Mosque, a Jute Warehouse and Several Shops, Brought Under Control After Two Hours by Four Units

A devastating fire in Sreepur, Gazipur, has burned down a mosque, a jute and cotton warehouse and several shops. The incident took place at around 3:30am on Wednesday night (21 October) at the No. 2 C&B Bazaar in Channapara village under Sreepur municipality. As the fire spread through the market area in the deep of night, the situation turned grave within moments.

On receiving the news, four Fire Service units rushed to the scene and brought the fire under control after about two hours of effort. With a warehouse of flammable material such as jute waste and cotton, there was a risk the fire would spread quickly; that is why additional units had to be called in one after another.

Sreepur Fire Service Station Officer Nurul Karim said they received the news of the fire at 3:55am. Two units from Sreepur Fire Station went to the scene and began work to control the blaze. But even after the first two units started, the fire quickly grew in size.

As the intensity of the fire increased, another unit from Sreepur Fire Station and one unit from Rajendrapur Modern Fire Station joined the firefighting work. In this way, a total of four units worked together to surround the fire.

He said the fire was brought under control at 5:48am after about two hours of effort by the four units. As the fire that began around 3:30am was controlled before dawn, a much larger spread is believed to have been prevented.

The fire burned a jute and cotton warehouse, a sanitary shop, several chicken shops, a scrap shop and a mosque. With the market's shops burning one after another, the losses of the affected traders are feared to be large, although no official account has yet been given.

The burning of the mosque has particularly saddened local people. Alongside the market's shops and warehouse, the religious institution could not be saved from the fire either. On hearing the news in the morning, local residents gathered at the scene.

The Fire Service official also said no casualties were immediately reported in the fire. As the market was empty in the deep of night, it is initially believed there was no loss of life; that is the only relief in this accident.

The Fire Service said the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage will be known after an investigation. Without knowing the cause, preventive measures will also be difficult; the affected traders are therefore looking to the investigation report.

Storing flammable material such as jute waste and cotton in a market multiplies the fire risk. What fire safety measures such markets had may also come up in the investigation. For now, the big question before the traders of the burned shops and warehouse is how they will recover from the loss and stand again.