Published : 26 Nov 2025, 09:20 AM
Updated : 28 Aug 2026, 01:30 AM
Hosne Ara worked as a domestic helper in a house in Baridhara. The widowed mother of two had been supporting her family by working in others’ homes.
In the past 13 years, she had gradually built a home complete with essentials, including a television and refrigerator, but before she could even comprehend what was happening, everything was reduced to ashes.
Hearing the fire, she fled her home with her children in whatever clothes she had.
Once she had ensured their safety, there was no way to return; by then, the entire house was engulfed in flames.
“All the things needed in a household were there. I took the two children and ran; I could not even take a single thread of cloth,” she said.
She was not the only one. Thousands of families escaped the fire in panic and could not return to their homes. Within hours, they were left under the open sky.
Many of the families lived in areas adjacent to Dhaka’s affluent Gulshan and Banani, yet beneath the glitter, their struggle for survival remained constant.
Their homes, painstakingly set up without most civic facilities, now only reflect the sorrow of “losing everything”.
A massive fire broke out in Mohakhali’s Korail slum on Tuesday evening, destroying nearly 1,500 homes, according to the Fire Service.
The Fire Service received the alert at 5:22pm and rushed 19 units to battle the raging blaze.
After nearly five and a half hours of relentless effort, the fire was finally brought under control at 10:35pm.
No casualties were reported, yet residents spoke of lives upended and nearly “all their belongings” reduced to ash.
Hosne Ara, her face streaked with tears, described the devastation: “Everyone was shouting fire fire, and the flames just kept spreading. Today it has taken everything from me. Where will I go with my children?”
Her son Sthanay is in the sixth grade, preparing for his annual exams, while her daughter studies in the second grade, their books and school supplies lost in the blaze.
“She has an exam [on Thursday], but I could not even take a single book with me,” she said.
During the fire, the area was crowded with residents trying to check on their homes, leaving law enforcers struggling to manage the situation.
Those who escaped the fire said almost no one could take anything with them.
Another woman, identified only as Mariam, whose family hails from Mymensingh, has been living in Korail for around 10 years with five sons and a daughter.
“At the time of the fire, I was with my two younger sons. The older children had already gotten out. I could not save anything,” she said.
Mariam later went to the house where she works as a domestic helper. She was given some old clothes, which she took with her and sat silently in front of the slum.
She said she would visit the burnt home once the fire was extinguished, but for now, she did not know where she would stay or what she would do next.
Momiron, sitting beside her, said: “I barely got out alive with my life.”
Samiul Islam Akash, just out of his teens, lived in a room in the slum with his parents.
Working as a security guard at a private firm in Banani, he had built the house just four months ago using borrowed money and instalments. He watched it burn to the ground today.
“I had been building the house for four months. I bought a fridge and television on instalment. Now everything is ash,” he said.
Like Samimul, Mohammad Liton, a cleaner at BRAC University hostel, stood helpless after losing everything.
His home of five years, where he lived with his wife and two children, was destroyed.
“My wife works in a house. Together we slowly set up our home. Today I am back on the street again,” he said.
Md Ripon, caught in the heart of the blaze, recounted the terrifying moments as flames swept through his home and shop.
“The fire had already spread before the Fire Service arrived. I was in my shop and barely managed to get home to save my family. I could not even enter the shop.
“Now all my possessions, at home and in the shop, are destroyed,” he said, his voice heavy with despair.
WHAT TOOK SO LONG TO CONTAIN THE FIRE?
Fire Service Director Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said they were no stranger to Korail slum fire, which occurs every year.
Spread over 35 hectres, the slum, prone to frequent fires, houses 10,000 shanties. About a dozen were burnt in a fire that broke out on Feb 21.
Two fires had broken out last year as well, on Mar 24 and Dec 18.
After dousing every fire, the firefighters invariably pointed out a common obstacle: the narrow road to the slum affecting their smooth movement, especially the movement of their vehicles. The tin, bamboo, and wooden houses are built tightly against one another, which is why fires spread rapidly here.
Tajul said they spent a while navigating the narrow alley leading to the scene.
“The area is extremely congested and densely populated. By the time the firefighters reached the scene, the fire had already spread. That is why it took time to bring it under control,” said Tajul.
Asked about the damage, he said, “Approximately 1,500 houses have been affected. Determining the exact extent of the damage will take some time.”
He said the cause of the fire could be determined after investigation.
“Everybody has a theory about the fire breaking out. It can be determined through investigation. We have noticed many potential causes, such as haphazard electric cables,” he said.
“Almost every house uses a gas cylinder. The fire could have been triggered by a gas cylinder,” he added.
Tajul regretted their vehicles struggled to enter the area due to haphazardly parked cars. Their effort to clear the road yielded no result, delaying the start of their work.
“Our vehicles had to be parked far away, and we had to bring water using long pipes to fight the blaze,” he said.
FIRE SERVICE FACED OBSTACLES TOO
The Fire Service has again blamed Dhaka’s traffic congestion for reaching the scene 35 minutes after the fire had broken out. The victims were raging at the fire crews who first arrived there. Many slum dwellers acted recklessly, trying to save what belongings they had, disrupting the firefighting, the crews alleged.
“Some of them had cut our pipes halfway through, attempting to divert water to save their own houses,” said Tajul.
He, however, sympathised with them, saying it was not easy for the impoverished families to watch what little they own get reduced to ashes.
Many demanded that helicopters spray water to douse the fire.
“Using a helicopter in such an urban fire could have fanned it, complicating the task and potentially prolonging the firefighting,” said Tajul.
CA’S CONCERN, SYMPATHY
Expressing deep concern and sympathy, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire and effective measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
“We share the grief with those who have lost their houses to the Korail slum fire. The government will ensure all necessary support for rehabilitating the affected,” Yunus said in a statement issued after the fire.
He also instructed authorities to immediately intensify rescue and relief operations.
