Massive fire in Tongi jhut warehouse

A fire broke out in a warehouse of jhut - fabric scraps left over from ready-made garment factories - in Tongi, Gazipur late on Thursday, engulfing four storage facilities and burning everything to ashes.

It took seven units of firefighters - three from Tongi station of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, three from Dhaka Zone 3 and three from Uttara - nearly seven hours of efforts to bring the fire under control.

The fire broke out at around 9pm at the warehouse located inside the premises of Olympia Textile Mill, in Tongi’s Millgate area, said Iqbal Hossain, senior station officer at Tongi fire station.

“They brought the fire under control at around 4:30am today [Friday],” he added.

At least three people were injured during the process. They are given treatment at Shaheed Ahsanullah Master General Hospital in Tongi.

Piles of jhut - fabric scraps - burn in a fire in the storage facility of Olympia Textile Mill in Tongi, Gazipur on Thursday, June 10, 2021 | Dhaka Tribune

The cause behind the fire and the extent of losses due to the incident are not confirmed yet. But a local jhut trader estimates the losses to be worth as much as Tk5 crore.

Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, jhut dealer Sabuj, who owned the jhut warehouse said, the fire broke out in four of his tin-shade storage units at around 9pm on Thursday, and quickly engulfed three more storage units nearby.

The warehouse had been stocked with fresh lots of jhut earlier on Thursday evening, he said.

He said he suspected the fire might have been caused by cigarettes dropped by day labourers or a mosquito repellent coil.

“Everything is burnt to the ground,” Sabuj said. “The fire has caused a loss of around Tk5 crore.”

Senior Station Officer in Tongi Iqbal Hossain said the fire had yet to be fully doused as of 9am Friday.