A fire broke out at Monjur Khan Plaza, a seven-storey commercial building in Chawkbazar, Old Dhaka, early Tuesday, gutting seven to eight warehouses and spreading to an adjacent building before firefighters brought the blaze under control.
Nine firefighting units were deployed to tackle the blaze, which caused extensive damage to warehouses storing umbrellas, cosmetics, attar and other goods on the sixth and seventh floors. The sixth floor sustained the most damage.
Kazi Nazmuzzaman, assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, disclosed the details during a briefing on Tuesday morning, saying the full extent of the losses was yet to be determined.
He said the fire was brought under control at around 5:20am, but firefighters continued working to extinguish it completely as the warehouses were packed with combustible goods. “Smoke is still rising intermittently as damaged goods are being removed. Firefighters are spraying water to prevent the fire from reigniting,” he said.
Six firefighting units remained at the scene, while between 100 and 150 personnel had been involved in the operation.
Describing the challenges faced during the firefighting operation, Nazmuzzaman said locked warehouse doors, narrow access roads, inadequate smoke ventilation and water shortages significantly hampered efforts to contain the blaze.
“Some warehouses had three or four locks along with collapsible gates. Firefighters had to cut through the locks to gain access and extinguish the flames,” he said.
The narrow roads surrounding the market also made it difficult for fire engines to reach the building, while limited ventilation allowed smoke to accumulate inside, slowing down the operation.
Water shortages further complicated the firefighting efforts, as available reserves were repeatedly exhausted.
According to the Fire Service official, the sixth floor of the building housed between 12 and 14 large warehouses, of which seven to eight were affected by the blaze. Although the remaining warehouses escaped direct fire damage, their goods were damaged by water used during firefighting.
The seventh floor suffered comparatively less damage.
Nazmuzzaman said the building had an adequate number of fire extinguishers, which traders initially attempted to use to control the flames. However, their efforts proved unsuccessful as the fire intensified.
Despite the challenges, firefighters managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to several nearby markets.
“There are three to four markets surrounding the building. From the beginning, our priority was to prevent the flames from spreading to those establishments.
Although there were several critical moments, we managed to contain the fire through timely intervention,” he said.
He added that damage to the building itself appeared to be less severe than initially feared.
The official said no visible flames remained inside the building, but smoke continued to emerge as firefighters removed burnt goods from the warehouses.
“If water spraying is stopped, some of the damaged goods could catch fire again. That is why the operation to extinguish the fire completely is still continuing,” he explained.
Asked about the financial losses, Nazmuzzaman said an accurate assessment would only be possible after the firefighting operation was completed.
“The warehouse owners will have to assess their individual losses, which will also take some time,” he said.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. Nazmuzzaman said the Fire Service would form an investigation committee to determine how the blaze originated.
Although an electrical short circuit was being considered as a possible cause, he stressed that no conclusion could be drawn before the investigation was completed.
“The building has electrical connections, and a short circuit could be one of the possible causes. However, nothing can be confirmed without a thorough investigation,” he said.