Shawdesh desk:

Firefighters had to struggle a lot to bring the fire at Mohammadpur Krishi Market under control due to the huge crowd in front of the market, said director of the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defense Lieutenant Colonel Md Tajul Islam on Thursday.

‘It took time to douse the flame due to overcrowding and the police and BGB have faced difficulties in controlling the crowd of onlookers,’ he said while talking to reporters.

Replying to a question, the fire department director said that the fire might have originated from a grocery shop and an investigation would be carried out to identify the reason behind the fire.

Two people were slightly injured but no casualty was reported.

He also claimed that there was no adequate water supply and no primary fire controlling equipment at the market.

Besides, there is no safety plan at the market. The authorities concerned had issued notices several times, and public awareness programmes were carried out at different times but there was no response from the market authorities, said Tajul.

Talking about the surroundings of the market, Tajul said that it was like Bangabazar and the small alleys were blocked by piles of goods, and collapsible gates were closed which created a problem for the firefighters.

The night guards of the market were not present during the fire, forcing the firefighters to break the collapsible gates, he said.

‘When we reached the spot, we saw that fire engulfed almost three-quarters of the market and the firefighting units worked hard to contain it,’ said.

The fire broke out at the market around 3:45am and spread soon, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters (media cell).

Seventeen firefighting units were working to fully douse the blaze. It was brought under control at about 9:30am.