Fire breaks out at Kalshi slum

A fire broke out at a slum in Dhaka's Kalshi area yesterday noon, gutting many shanties and valuables.

The fire originated around 1:50pm at the slum near Sabuj Bangla residential area, said Lima Khanam, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters.

Six firefighting units put the blaze out around 5:40pm, officials said.

Ershad Hossain, another fire service official, said around 55 structures were damaged, while locals estimate over a hundred homes were burnt. The cause of the fire could not be known immediately..

Md Rubel, a street vendor, claimed the fire originated from a home and spread to other parts of the slum.

In November, at least three major fires swept through three slums in Mohakhali, Mohammadpur and Mirpur areas, burning down several hundred shanties.

According to fire officials, flames from burners, short-circuits from substandard wires, burning mosquito coils, improperly discarding cigarette butts and arson attacks are behind most slum fires.