A fire broke out at a factory of Akij Footwear at Narasinghapur at Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital on Sunday afternoon. Fire service officials said the fire originated on the first floor of the two-storey iron structure around 5:30pm. On information, 14 firefighing units from Dhamrai, Savar, Abdullahpur and EPZ areas rushed to the spot and doused the blaze after two and a half hours of frantic efforts around 8:10pm. Fire Service and Civil Defence deputy director Shakil Khan told UNB that the fire might have been caused from an electric short-circuit on the first floor of the factory where leather goods, highly inflammable chemicals, resins and other footwear manufacturing materials were kept. No one was reported to be inside the factory as it was closed on the occasion of the Eid-ul-Fitr, said Shakil quoting the factory guards. By the time the firefighters brought the fire under control, the first floor of the two-storey factory was completely gutted while part of the ground floor was also affected. The extent of losses could not yet be ascertained. — Savar, UNB
