Fire at Kadamtali foam factory brought under control after two hours

Five firefighting units worked together to tame the blaze

A fire that broke out at a foam manufacturing factory near Saddam Market in Dhaka's Kadamtali has been brought under control after around two and a half hours.

The blaze was contained around 9pm on Friday, Fire Service and Civil Defence spokesperson Anwarul Islam said.

Fire Service duty officer Rozina Akhtar said the fire had erupted around 6:30pm.

Five firefighting units worked to bring the situation under control.

“After receiving the report, the first unit reached the spot around 6:45pm. Later, with the combined effort of five units, the fire was brought under control at 9:05pm,” Anwarul said.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Fire Service Assistant Director Kazi Nazmuzzaman said: "There was a fire in two semi-brick buildings. When we arrived, we could see that both buildings were ablaze simultaneously. We were able to bring the fire in one building under control very quickly, but it took time to bring the fire on the other semi-brick building under control as the tin roof was on fire."

He said that the factory used to make mattresses by “recycling” the foams left over by other companies.

In addition, there were also some imported fabrics for the mattresses and some tire-like items, due to which the fire spread very quickly.

He said, "There was a lot of heat as we were extinguishing the fire. One of our firefighters got a little sick due to the heat. He is currently hospitalised, but is recovering."

Asked about the cause of the fire, he said: "I learnt specifically regarding the cause of the fire that there was a problem with the electrical line in the area. Due to which, the electricians came and as soon as the line was turned on, the circuits inside the foam factory suddenly caught fire."

He said that the cause and extent of the damage would be confirmed following an investigation after the fire was extinguished.