A youth was burned alive in a fire that broke out at Kaptan Bazar in the capital’s Gulistan area in the early hours of Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Yeasin, 21.
Deputy Assistant Director (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, Shahjahan Sikder said the fire broke out at a shop around 4:45am and soon engulfed adjoining shops in the bazar.
Some 12 firefighting units took over three hours to douse the blaze around 8:00am.
Later, the firefighters recovered the charred body of Yeasin from a shop, said Dewan Azad, duty officer at the control room of Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Fire incidents in Bangladesh
The number of fire accidents in Bangladesh has increased four times over the last two decades as the country’s urban areas are expanding without basic infrastructure like fire stations.
According to data provided by the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 2,85,000 instances of fire occurred in the country between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2020.
These fires also caused an estimated financial loss of around Tk 6,900 crore to the state exchequer.
Besides, at least 2,308 people were killed in fires across the country between 2004 and 2020, the fire service data shows.
The year 2019 saw the highest number of 24,074 fire incidents, while 2020 witnessed the second highest of 21,073.
As per the statistics of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, around 99,752 fires occurred in the country between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020.
