2 deaths in Ctg’s Orchid Plaza fire: Enclosed by glass, smoke was ‘trapped inside’

The 12-storey building is enclosed by glass up to the sixth floor, which trapped smoke inside and led to two deaths

The Fire Service says two people have fallen ill and died of smoke inhalation due to a fire at the 12-storey Orchid Plaza in Chattogram’s Terry Bazar as the smoke was unable to escape.

The fire started at 10am on Thursday in a store on the fourth floor of the building.

Firefighters rescued three people and sent them to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for smoke inhalation treatment.

Around 11:45am, two of them died, according to Sub-Inspector Nurul Alam Ashek of the CMCH Police Outpost.

The dead have been identified as Mohammad Yunus, 52, and Solaiman, 28. Both of them hailed from Chattogram’s Patiya.

Md Jashim Uddin, deputy director of the Fire Service’s Chattogram Division, came to inspect the scene around 1pm.

He told the media, “As the plaza is enclosed by glass, the smoke was not able to escape properly. When smoke causes the amount of carbon in the air to rise, it leads to breathing difficulties. We rescued several people and sent them to the hospital.”

“Initially, four vehicles from two of our units came after the incident was reported. Later, another unit sent a vehicle too. Meanwhile, we were able to bring the fire under control. As the businesses are in a densely populated and congested area, it took some time for our efforts to get up to speed.”

CMCH Director Md Taslim Uddin told reporters at the hospital, “Two people were brought here dead from the Terry Bazar fire disaster. They did not have burns on the outside of their bodies, but their windpipes were completely burnt.”

“Another person came in injured. The victim is receiving treatment in the burn unit.”

The 12-storey KB Orchid Plaza is surrounded by glass up to the sixth floor. The building’s different floors house bank branches, and a number of shops, including garments stores, tailors, and cloth stores.

The fire sparked from a store on the fourth floor named Western Tailors. Seven shops on the floor, including tailors and clothing stores, were burnt in the blaze, according to Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Atish Chakma.

Fire Service officials say the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage would be confirmed at a later time.