A fire at a garment in the Degerchala Faqir Market area of Gazipur city was brought under control after around 3.5 hours of efforts at around 6pm on Saturday.
However, 70 workers fell ill from smoke after being trapped inside the factory. They were rescued by Fire Service personnel and later taken to different hospitals.
The fire broke out at around 2:45pm at the Metrix sweater factory in the Faqir Market area.
Md Saidul Alam Chowdhury, deputy assistant director of Gazipur Fire Service, said the fire started on the third floor of the factory and quickly spread to the surrounding areas.
Initially, 3 units from Gazipur Chowrasta Modern Fire Station, 1 unit from Konabari Fire Station, 2 units from Gazipur Fire Station and 2 units from Rajendrapur Fire Station joined the firefighting operation. Another unit later joined, bringing the total to 9 units.
Md Saidul Alam Chowdhury said: “The Metrix sweater factory is located in the Degerchala Faqir Market area of the city. We received information about the fire at around 2:45pm. We then began efforts to bring it under control. The fire broke out on the third floor of the building. Meanwhile, 70 people fell ill from smoke after being trapped inside. They were rescued alive and sent to different local hospitals.”
He said: “There were no ponds or other sources of water nearby, and the factory did not have its own firefighting system, which made it difficult to bring the fire under control. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage were not immediately known. Details will be known after an investigation.”
According to another account, the fire broke out at the Metti garment factory in the Faqir Market area at around 2:45pm on Saturday.
Md Saleh Uddin, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said: “We received information that a fire had broken out in the warehouse of the Metti garment factory. After receiving the information, 2 units from Bhogra Bypass Fire Service arrived at the scene. After seeing the intensity, size and nature of the fire, our officer on duty requested assistance. Subsequently, a total of 9 units arrived here in phases.”
He said: “Many people were trapped on the roof of the building. We brought the vehicle we use for rescue operations from high-rise buildings here. We rescued a total of 69 people from inside and from the roof of the building.”
He said: “The 3-storey building is covered with glass on all sides and it is a warehouse, making firefighting extremely risky. Our firefighters worked at risk and did so today as well. They entered the building despite the risk and applied special Fire Service techniques while enduring intense heat to bring the fire under control after 3.5 hours.”
He added: “Bringing a fire under control does not mean the fire has been extinguished. Our firefighters are still working inside. It will take some time to extinguish the fire completely. Since there was a fabric warehouse here, a lot of fabric needs to be removed. The fire has to be completely extinguished by removing the materials one by one.”
“We are also making further inquiries to find out whether there are any casualties. How the fire started and whether there were any faults in the factory will be known after the fire is extinguished and a detailed investigation is conducted.”
