PBA REPORT: Fire Service and Civil Defence has formed a 3-member probe committee to investigate the incident of massive fire at the Jhilpar slum in Mirpur 7 of Dhaka.
Md Habibur Rahman, director (admin and finance) of the Fire Service, told reporters on Saturday that they formed the committee led by a deputy director to find out the cause behind the fire and investigate.
Fire Service personnel being divided into four groups were continuing their search operation since morning, he said. “We will end our operation with the completion of the search,” Habibur added.
Meanwhile, Fire Service Deputy Director Md Rezaul Karim said as many as 3,000 families were affected in the fire that ravaged several hundred shanties.
He made the statement at a press briefing from the spot Saturday morning.
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“There were 500 to 600 shanties in the slum. We managed to save some of those, but 3,000 families have been affected in the incident,” he said.
Fire Service personnel doused the blaze early Saturday that broke out around 7:22pm on Friday.
A number of 24 firefighting units doused the blaze around 1:30am after a frantic 6-hour effort.
No news of death was reported but four people, including a firefighter, were injured in the incident.
The injured were taken to different hospitals in the capital.
The massive fire turned thousands of the lower-income slum residents homeless and left nothing for them other than charred valuables, and despair.
Rezaul Karim said there were combustible substances in the shanties while the gas connection was in a vulnerable condition.
All of these helped the blaze spreading fast to adjacent shanties, he added.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam visited the spot again in the afternoon.
He said the DNCC would carry the medical expense of the injured.
The mayor said with the help of other authorities they would take whatever steps necessary to assist the affected people.
PBA/BK
