Devastating fire guts Narayanganj RMG factory
No casualties were reported till filing of the report
A devastating fire gutted four units of an export-oriented garment factory in Bandar upazila of Narayanganj on Friday.
The fire broke out on the second floor of a three-storied building at Zaheen Knitwears Ltd around 4:30pm Friday and soon spread to three other three-storied buildings of the factory.
Fire officials assumed that an electric short circuit might have caused the fire.
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No casualties were reported as of 10pm Friday, according to Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire and Civil Defence.
Firefighters were able to douse the fire in three units. The blaze at unit-4 is still out of control as of filing this report at 9pm.
On information, 19 units of the fire service rushed to the spot and nine more units later joined the team, said Shahjahan Shikder, deputy assistant director (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters.
Raising a question, the fire officials said it is suspicious how the fire engulfed all the four buildings simultaneously although those were 30 feet away from one another.
Shafiuddin Ahmed, executive director of Zaheen Knitwear, said the fire might have erupted from an electric short circuit and spread quickly due to the stockpile of fabrics and readymade garments.
However, the chances of casualties are low as there were no workers in the factory due to the holiday, he added.
"3000 workers used to work at the factory. But there were 20-30 workers working there and they came out of the floors after the fire broke out," Shafiuddin added.
According to the garment workers, fabrics were stored on the second floor of the three-storey building. There were no workers inside as it was Friday.
According to the website of Jamaluddin Group, Zaheen Knitwears Ltd is a 100% export-oriented readymade Knit garments industry located at Keodala, Madonpur in Narayanganj's Bandar upazila. It consists of knitting, dyeing, cutting, sewing and finishing units-equipped with modern machinery and an office on the same floor.
However, the website also claimed the factory has fire extinguishing materials and is well-equipped, but the fire service officials found a lack of fire-safety.
Md Jamal Uddin, chairman of Zaheen Knitwears Limited, could not be reached despite several attempts.
