A fire that broke out in a warehouse at the tannery market in Hazaribagh, Dhaka, has been brought under control.
After battling the blaze for nearly two and a half hours, 11 units of the Fire Service managed to contain the fire at 4:45pm on Friday.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Director of Operations and Maintenance at the Fire Service, shared this information with reporters at the scene.
Earlier in the afternoon, the fire started in the building, with the Fire Service receiving the alert at 2:14pm.
Duty Officer Rojina Akter from the Fire Service Headquarters said: "The fire broke out on the fifth floor of a seven-story building and later spread to the sixth floor. Twelve units of the Fire Service worked to control the blaze."
Police from Hazaribagh Station, RAB, scouts, and various volunteer organizations assisted the Fire Service.
However, the crowd of onlookers made firefighting efforts more challenging.
Members of the Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) also joined the operation.
Reports indicate that the building housed leather and leather chemical stockpiles belonging to Phoenix Tannery Limited, along with shops selling leather goods and shoes.
The fire primarily affected the fifth and sixth floors, causing it to spread rapidly.
Local businessman and President of Ward No 14 BNP (Dhaka South City Corporation), Jahangir Alam Bhuiyan, mentioned that the building contained 50-60 small factories producing leather shoes, bags, and belts.
As today was Friday, all factories were closed.
The fire reportedly started after Friday prayers, initially on the fifth floor, before spreading to the fourth and sixth floors.
He further said that more than 25 factories in the building were completely burned.
Local sources revealed that a similar fire occurred in the same building on this day in 2023.
At that time, it took eight units of the Fire Service around an hour to control the fire.
Another fire had also broken out in the building in 2014.
