A fire broke out on the rooftop of a four-storey building beside the British American Tobacco building in Mahakhali, Dhaka, on Thursday morning, after discarded plastic materials caught fire.
Three units from the Tejgaon Fire Station were deployed to bring the blaze under control. No casualties have been reported so far.
The fire started at around 11:11am on 10 September. The Fire Service received the report at 11:12am, just one minute after the incident began. The first firefighting team reached the scene at around 11:28am and began efforts to contain the flames.
Khaleda Yasmin, duty officer at the Fire Service control room, confirmed the incident to Channel 24.
According to Fire Service officials, the blaze originated among discarded plastic materials stored on the roof of the four-storey building. As plastic can ignite and burn rapidly, firefighters moved quickly to prevent the flames from spreading to other parts of the structure.
The building also has an electrical substation on its third floor. The presence of the electrical installation meant that firefighters had to remain cautious while tackling the blaze. Fire Service officials said their prompt response had prevented the fire from spreading further.
Three units from Tejgaon Fire Station are currently working at the site to extinguish the remaining flames completely. Authorities have not yet provided details of any property damage, while the exact cause of the fire has not been established beyond the initial assessment that discarded plastic materials were involved.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries in the Mahakhali incident. A fuller assessment of the damage is expected once the firefighting operation is completed and the affected premises can be examined.
The Mahakhali fire was not the only fire incident reported in Dhaka that morning. Earlier, at around 10:05am, the Fire Service received a report of a fire at a multi-storey building in the capital’s Dhanmondi area.
The incident occurred at the third-floor Apex showroom of a six-storey building in Dhanmondi-27. Fire Service personnel reached the location at around 10:15am, only 10 minutes after receiving the report.
At the time of the initial report, the cause of the Dhanmondi fire, the extent of any damage and whether anyone had been injured were not immediately known.
The two incidents, reported within a relatively short period in separate parts of the capital, prompted firefighting teams to respond quickly at both locations. In Mahakhali, the focus remained on preventing the rooftop blaze from spreading to the rest of the building, particularly given the electrical substation located on the third floor.
Fire Service personnel continued their operation at the Mahakhali site as of Thursday afternoon, with three units working to bring the fire fully under control.
