Short-circuits, lit cigarettes leading causes of fire in Bangladesh: Fire service
Bangladesh witnessed property damages worth Tk792.36 crore due to fire in the year as firefighters saved properties worth Tk1,808.53 crore, said Fire Service and Civil Defense
As many as 27,624 fire incidents occurred nationwide throughout 2023, with most of them caused by electrical short-circuits, burning cigarette butts, stoves, and gas line leaks.
"The nationwide damages from these fires amounted to a staggering Tk792.36 crore, while the firefighters managed to save properties valued at Tk1,808.53 crore through firefighting efforts," said the Fire Service and Civil Defense Media Cell today (4 February).
The fires also resulted in 102 deaths and 281 injuries nationwide. During firefighting operations, 48 departmental personnel were injured, and one was killed in a road accident en route to a fire.
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Statistical analysis based on causes revealed that out of the 27,624 fire incidents, 9,813 (35.52%) were due to electrical short-circuits, 4,906 (17.76%) from burning cigarette butts, 4,117 (15.11%) from stoves, 923 (3.34%) from children playing with fire, 770 (2.79%) from gas line leaks, 125 (0.45%) from gas cylinder and boiler explosions, and 87 from fireworks.
Regarding property damage, residential buildings and homes experienced the most fires, with a total of 6,956 incidents, accounting for 25.18% of all fires.
Other significant sites of fires included barns and straw stacks (4,277 incidents), kitchens (2,938), shops (1,821), markets (1,264), shopping malls (759), garment factories (403), hospitals/clinics/pharmacies (248), hotels (246), electrical substations (232), slums (199), multi-story buildings (147), educational institutions (140), religious establishments (96), and jute warehouses/mills (94).
Fire service said there were also 506 vehicle fires on land, 73 on watercraft, and 12 on trains in 2023.
Monthly fire incident statistics show that March had 3,334 fire incidents, April had 3,141, and May had 3,235.
Meanwhile, January, February, and June also reported significant numbers.
July, August, September, and October saw fewer incidents of fire.
An analysis of casualties from fires showed that men were more frequently among the injured and deceased, with 221 men and 60 women injured.
Among the 102 deaths, 73 were men and 29 were women.
