Reign of Fire

Just about one month ago, over 70 lives were swallowed in one of the most tragic fire incidents in the country. But before the scars of the Chawkbazar fire could be healed, another blaze yesterday swept through the 22-storeyed FR Tower in the capital’s Banani area, yet again raising the death toll of fire victims just this year. The fire began on the 6th floor around 1:00pm. Relatives of those trapped in the building were seen waiting anxiously with a world full of fright in their eyes, while those who tried to get out of the building through windows fell to their deaths from different storeys. Anyone who was around the area, including university students and passersby, lent a helping hand to the fire fighting units to extinguish the flame and save as many lives as possible. While there is an average of 43 fire incidents every day, according to the data published by the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, only one percent of them are reported on. 

Photo: Amran Hossain, Palash Khan, Rashed Sumon, Prabir Das