A fire gutted four shops at the Chandra intersection of the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Kaliakoir upazila on Friday morning.
Vehicular movement on the busy highway was halted for an hour due to the fire, creating a substantial tailback.
Local sources said the fire erupted in the cotton bedding shop, belonging to one Md Mustaque, around 7:30am. The fire soon spread to three adjacent shops.
“On information, fire fighters rushed to the spot and doused the flames after one hour of hectic efforts,” Apurba Bol, station officer of Kaliakoir Fire Station, said.
Apurba Bol said the fire might have been sparked by stray cigarette butts being thrown at the cotton bedding shop by a passersby.
He could not immediately estimate the cost of the damage caused by the fire.