A major fire in Khagrachhari’s Manikchhari upazila early on Friday destroyed five business establishments, including a large medicine warehouse, causing estimated losses of around Tk 70 lakh, according to the affected traders.
The fire broke out at around 4am on 11 September at Dharamghar Bazar in the Mayurkhil area of the upazila. The incident occurred in the early hours when most people in the market were asleep. Local residents noticed the flames and rushed to the area, attempting to bring the blaze under control with whatever means were available to them.
Their efforts, however, were not enough to contain the fire. The flames spread rapidly across the adjoining shops, intensifying the damage before professional firefighters could reach the scene.
After receiving information from local residents, a team from the Lakshmichhari Fire Service Station headed to the market. The firefighters arrived at around 6.30am and began working to contain the blaze. After a prolonged effort, they managed to bring the fire fully under control.
By then, however, several businesses had already been severely damaged or completely destroyed. The affected establishments included a medicine warehouse, a shop selling fertiliser and pesticides, a grocery shop, a tea shop and a furniture store.
Among the traders facing substantial losses is medicine businessman Atuse Marma. He said the fire started so suddenly in the early morning that there was no opportunity to remove goods from the warehouse or move them to a safer location.
Marma said his warehouse alone contained medicines worth around Tk 30 lakh. The stock included life-saving medicines as well as other pharmaceutical products, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
The total preliminary loss reported by the affected traders is estimated at approximately Tk 70 lakh. The figure covers the medicines, agricultural products, grocery items, tea-shop goods, furniture and other stock and materials lost in the blaze. A more precise assessment may be possible after the affected businesses complete their individual calculations of the destroyed goods and property.
The cause of the fire has not yet been conclusively established. Based on preliminary observations, fire service officials suspect that an electrical short circuit may have triggered the blaze. Authorities are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine how the fire started.
The incident has left the affected traders facing significant financial hardship. For small businesses, the loss of an entire stock of goods can have consequences beyond the immediate destruction of the shops, particularly when there is little or no opportunity to recover merchandise before a fire spreads.
The early-morning blaze also highlights the difficulty of responding to fires in market areas once flames spread between closely situated commercial establishments. In this case, local residents attempted to tackle the fire before the fire service arrived, but the intensity and speed of the blaze prevented them from bringing it under control.
The fire has now been extinguished, while the investigation into its origin and the full extent of the losses continues.
