Four of a family, including two children, burnt in Gazipur house fire; mother and children critical
A father, mother and their two young children have suffered burn injuries in a fire at a house in the Paschim Bhurulia area of Gazipur city. The mother and the two children are in serious condition.
The fire broke out on Friday morning at the home of Miyaz Uddin Pradhan in the Lalmati area of Paschim Bhurulia, under the GMP Sadar police station.
The injured are Mohsin Pradhan, 27, his wife Subarna Akter, 23, and their two children, Saiyan, 6, and Soat, 4.
Local sources said Mohsin and his wife and children were asleep in separate rooms on Friday morning when the fire suddenly broke out in their dwelling.
Mohsin escaped by breaking a window. With the help of neighbours, the door was then broken open and his wife and two children, who were in the adjoining room, were rescued.
Mohsin's father, Miyaz Uddin Pradhan, said the family believes the fire started from an electrical short circuit in their tin-roofed, semi-pucca house.
Local people first tried to put out the flames but were unsuccessful. A unit of the Joydebpur Fire Service later reached the spot and brought the fire under control.
Miyaz Uddin said his daughter-in-law had suffered burns over 45 percent of her body, and each of his two grandsons over 25 percent. His son Mohsin was slightly burnt.
The four were first taken to Gazipur's Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital. As their condition deteriorated, they were sent to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka for advanced treatment.
The family said the fire also burnt six rooms of the house, a motorcycle and furniture.
Mohammad Aminul Islam, officer-in-charge of the GMP Sadar police station, said police were sent to the spot after news of the fire and the injured were taken to hospital.
Saidur Rahman, deputy assistant director of the Gazipur Fire Service, said firefighters brought the blaze under control after receiving the call, and that local people had already taken the injured to hospital before they arrived. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage have not yet been determined, he said.
