Fire at Ashulia RMG factory doused after nearly 4 hours
The fire was brought under control around 3pm and fully extinguished it by 4:27pm
A fire, which broke out today (6 October) at Ayesha Clothing Limited, a readymade garment factory under the Palmal Group, was doused after nearly four hours of efforts, jointly by the Fire Service and Civil Defence and the Bangladesh Army.
Nine firefighting units were deployed to control the blaze, which originated in the second-floor godown of the eight-storey building, located in the Jamgora area of Ashulia, Dhaka.
Md Alauddin, assistant director (Dhaka Zone-4) of the Fire Service, confirmed that the fire was contained within the second floor of the eight-storey building.
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He told the media that they managed to bring the fire under control around 3pm and fully extinguished it by 4:27pm.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage have yet to be determined.
Earlier, he mentioned that there was a lot of smoke and heat inside and that it would take time to completely extinguish the fire.
He also said, "A total of nine units are currently engaged in the operation. Furthermore, army personnel have also joined the firemen at the scene to assist in the fire suppression efforts."
At around 3:30pm, Rashed Bin Khalid, the duty officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters' control room, told TBS that officials at the scene had informed them the fire was brought under control at 2:05pm. However, fire service personnel had been working to fully extinguish the flames.
Journalists were allowed inside the factory, as all fire service officers and personnel remained inside the premises, reports our correspondent.
According to workers, the fire was first spotted at around 11:45am in the second-floor godown section of the second unit of the factory, leading to a quick evacuation of those on the lower levels.
However, workers reported a crucial failure in the factory's emergency system that sparked safety concerns among employees on the higher floors.
Mohor Ali, a packing man at Ayesha Clothing, told The Business Standard, "We were working on the floor when we suddenly saw fire in the unit-2 godown section at around 11:45am. We quickly notified other workers, who rushed out."
Mohor Ali added that workers initially attempted to douse the fire themselves while simultaneously calling the fire service, but they were forced to exit the factory as the flames spread rapidly.
