Staff Reporter :
A devastating fire broke out at Matrix Sweater Factory in Signboard area of Gazipur city on Tuesday leaving at least six workers injured.
The fire also burnt down valuables worth about Tk 100 crore, factory authorities claimed, saying that over 7,000 workers work at the factory.
Fire Brigade personnel along with workers and local people brought the fire under control after five and a half hours of frantic efforts.
However, there was no report of any casualty in the fire, which also panicked the locals. Smock and blaze of the fire made many workers unconscious when they were struggling to douse the fire. The sweater factory, housed on the top floor of the eight-storied building, caught fire at about 7:30am yesterday. Fire accidents have been a major concern for the country’s burgeoning garment industry, which annually earns about $25 billion from exports mainly to the United States and Europe, since a devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions Limited at Ashulia industrial belt that had killed at least 117 workers and injured about 200 others in 2012.
“I, along with 20 to 22 workers-employees and some security personnel, was at the ground floor when we first saw the flames. We all ran to the top floor of the building to douse the fire but failed as we were panicked and terrified seeing the huge smoke and blaze of fire,” Mohammad Al Amin, a worker of the factory said. Al Amin, who received burn injuries, is now under treatment at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital. “As we failed to douse the fire we started running hither and thither for safety,” he said.
“The flames raced up more quickly than anyone can imagine. It was horrible. We thought there must be so many workers inside the factory. Thanks to Almighty Allah as it is a miracle that no one was killed,” Masum Billah, a resident adjacent to the sweater factory, said.
Assistant Director of Gazipur Fire Service Aktaruzzaman said the fire originated from the thread godown of the sweater factory housed on the top floor of the building.
“As many synthetic goods were kept at the factory, the fire started engulfing the whole floor quickly. It was terrible,” he told journalists.
He added the fire engulfed the whole floor of the sweater factory. It also spread to the seventh floor. “The reason behind the fire could not be known immediately,” he said. Talking to journalists Mujibur Rahman, General Manager of the factory, said as the workers were on the way to their factory, none of them was present inside the factory during the fire. “However, six workers received burn injuries while they were trying to douse the fire,” he said, adding the injured workers were sent to the hospital. He said their efforts to bring the fire under control went in vain due to lack of adequate sources of water in the area.
“The loss is estimated about Tk 100 crore,” he said.
At least 22 firefighting units from different fire service stations, including Joydebpur and Tongi, rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control at about 1.00pm.
Vehicular movement on the busy Dhaka-Mymensingh highway became normal in the late morning after hours of disruptions. When contacted President Siddiqur Rahman and Senior Vice President Faruque Hassan of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said they have already started investigating the fire incident.
“We always remain alert to avert any accident. But accident is accident. We have taken the incident seriously and now investigation is on to know whether it is sabotage or an accident,” he said while replying to a query. “We have learnt lessons from the past few unfortunate incidents that took places in recent years and are trying our best to ensure RMG sector a safe and sustainable one,” the BGMEA President said.
Senior Vice President Faruque Hassan termed the fire incident as an accident saying such fire may occurs anytime anywhere in the world. “But I’m not ruling out of sabotage. As the fire broke out before workers’ joining, we are investigation who were responsible for keeping the factory safe and secured,” he said.
