A fire that broke out in the Korail Slum in the capital’s Tejgaon area was fully doused after 16 hours of strenuous efforts, officials of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) said.
Md Shahjahan Sikder, assistant director of FSCD, Headquarters, confirmed the fire was brought under full control around 9:30am on Wednesday.
Earlier, the fire service announced that 19 firefighting units with five hours of frantic efforts brought the fire under control at 10:35pm on Tuesday.
The fire started at 5:22pm.
No casualties have been reported so far, Sikder confirmed.
The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, and the extent of the damage will be assessed following a full investigation, he said.
Firefighters encountered major difficulties due to the slum’s narrow access roads, which prevented fire engines from reaching the spot directly.
As a result, water had to be sprayed from a distance using long hosepipes, prolonging the operation.
FSCD Director (Operations and Maintenance) Lieutenant Colonel Tajul Islam Chowdhury told journalists that the greatest challenge was the inability of fire engines to reach the source of the blaze.
“Our larger fire vehicles could not enter because of the narrow access road. We had to use long hose lines to bring water to the fire,” he said, adding that fire engines were delayed for more than 30 minutes due to traffic congestion and restricted road conditions.
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