A fire broke out at a madrasah in the Signboard area of Fatullah, Narayanganj. Sixty-three students who fell ill after inhaling smoke have been admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the capital.
Sultan Mahmud Sikder, resident surgeon at the hospital, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday morning that four of the injured students were in critical condition. One of them is on life support.
The Fire Service said the fire broke out at Jamia Ashrafia Madrasah at around 2:00 am on Tuesday. Sources said the fire started in the library and an office room on the first floor of the madrasah’s five-storey building.
The flames spread across the two rooms, which cover an area of around 4,000 square feet. Three units from the Kanchpur Modern Fire Station and two from the Shibu Market Modern Fire Station worked to extinguish the fire.
Sultan Mahmud Sikder, the resident surgeon at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, told Prothom Alo Tuesday morning that four of the 63 people brought to the hospital had been taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) in critical condition. One of them had been placed on life support.
Sultan Mahmud Sikder added, “None of the students has any signs of burns on their bodies. All of them have respiratory problems. We believe this was caused by smoke inhalation. However, not all of them have suffered damage to their airways. We are also considering discharging some of them.”
The Fire Service’s preliminary assessment is that the fire at the madrasah may have originated from an electrical short circuit.