At least 100 rooms of a tin shed colony were destroyed in a massive fire that broke out in the Jarun area of Konabari in Gazipur on Wednesday afternoon.
Locals said the blaze started in one room of Rumel Pathan’s tin-shed colony and quickly spread to adjacent rooms. Residents first tried to extinguish the fire themselves, but as the flames intensified, they called the fire service. Two units from Konabari Modern Fire Service rushed to the spot and began efforts to control the blaze, later joined by two more units from Sarabo Modern Fire Service.
Garment worker and tenant Shah Alam said, “I was at work when I got a call that my house was on fire. By the time I reached home, all my furniture and belongings had burned to ashes. I have nothing left except the clothes I am wearing.”
Another garment worker and tenant, Rahima Begum, said, “I had just received my salary a few days ago. All the money was in the house. All my hard-earned money from day and night shifts burned in a moment.”
Local resident Palash Molla said they tried to put out the fire upon hearing the news, but the blaze was so intense that it was extremely difficult to bring under control. He added that the narrow lane leading to the colony made it hard for fire service personnel to access the site. With the help of locals, firefighters managed to control the blaze after nearly two hours of effort.
House owner Rumel Pathan said all 100 rooms of his tin-shed colony were completely destroyed, and no belongings could be saved from any room. “Workers from various nearby garment factories lived in these rooms. Everything they owned has been burned to ashes. They have nothing left except the clothes on their backs,” he said.
Saiful Islam, warehouse inspector at Konabari Modern Fire Service, said two units from Konabari initially worked to control the fire, later joined by two more units from Sarabo Modern Fire Service. He said the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage could not be determined immediately.
