Fire in Chittagong super shop doused

A fire that broke out on the second floor of a super shop in Chittagong has been doused.

According to Fire Service and Civil Defence, the newly-built three-storey super shop Shopping Bag located beside Almas cinema hall at Kazir Dewri area in the port city, caught fire around 6:20am on Saturday.

Upon receiving information, Fire Service went to the spot and brought the fire under control around 8am.

However, the cause and extent of damage caused by the fire could not be ascertained immediately.

Chittagong Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Purna Chandra Mutshuddi said: "We had to struggle to extinguish the fire as the shop was constructed in such way that made the room sealed from all sides, with no open windows. 

"However, there has been no casualty in the fire."

According to Chittagong Fire Service, the numbers of fire accidents stand at 498, 663, and 577 in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively.

The fire follows a recent spike in fire incidents in the country.

On the night of February 20, a deadly fire ravaged several multi-storey buildings housing shops, plus chemical and plastic warehouses, on Nanda Kumar Lane at Chawkbazar’s Churihatta intersection in Dhaka.

Apart from killing 70 people, the fire left scores of others severely injured.

Over a month after that, on March 28, a devastating fire occurred in the FR Tower, located in Dhaka’s Banani area – killing 26 people, and injuring many more.