Fire in Karail slum brought under control after 5 hours, residents under open sky

The fire in Karail slum at Mohakhali in the capital has been brought under control after more than five hours through the efforts of 19 units of the fire service.

At around 10:35 pm on Tuesday, the fire was finally brought under control. Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of the fire service, confirmed this in a message.

Earlier, at around 5:30 pm, the fire service announced the outbreak of the fire in Karail slum through a press release. Eleven units initially began efforts to extinguish the blaze and subsequently eight more units joined the operation.

Md Abbas Ali, a resident of the main Bou Bazar area of Karail slum, told Prothom Alo that the fire broke out in the Cumilla Potti, Barishal Potti and ‘K’ Block areas of Bou Bazar. There were about 1,000 houses in that section. Once the fire started, it spread rapidly.

Abdur Rahim had been engaged in crowd control in the Baitul Aman area due to the fire. The area where he was working was close to the site of the fire. Police and Ansar personnel were also assisting in managing the crowd. They were not allowing outsiders to enter the affected zone.

According to Abdur Rahim, many families fled to safer places in panic when the fire broke out, leaving their homes empty. To prevent theft of belongings from the abandoned houses, they were controlling the crowd and restricting access to the area.

According to local residents, those from Cumilla Potti, Barishal Potti and ‘K’ Block in Bou Bazar have taken shelter either in the nearby Khamarbari (Eidgah) ground, Ershad School field or the Mohakhali T&T field. At Khamarbari ground, hundreds of families were seen staying under the open sky with their belongings.

Later, at the T&T field, hundreds more people were seen sheltering in the open, accompanied by some possessions and household items salvaged from their homes.

To protect themselves from mosquito bites and the mild winter chill, they had lit fires using wood and plastic.

At Khamarbari ground, an autorickshaw driver, Robin Sheikh, said that their home was near the Mayer Dowa School in Cumilla Potti. At around 5:30 pm, the fire had already reached close to their house.

Speaking around 9:00 pm, he said that their home had probably been burnt down by then, as it had already become unbearable to stay inside due to the heat when they fled. He added that the three rooms they rented were all adjacent.

At this point, Robin’s wife, Nurena Begum, said that the fire had started in Barishal Potti and had spread rapidly in all directions. As a result, they had managed to bring out only two racks from their home and nothing else.