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Published : 17 Jan 2026, 01:02 AM
The victims did not burn, doctors say, they ran out of air.
As thick black smoke filled a six-storey residential building in Dhaka’s Uttara, families were cut off from every possible exit -- unable to flee downstairs because of the fire, and unable to climb up because the rooftop door was locked.
Witnesses said several residents stood on balconies, waving their hands and screaming for help. Firefighters eventually rescued several people by cutting window grilles after bringing the fire partly under control; however, by then, it was too late for many.
Locals said most of the victims might have survived had the rooftop door been left open. The incident has once again raised questions about the common practice among Dhaka homeowners of keeping rooftops locked, particularly after a horrific accident struck before residents could even wake up on a holiday morning.
The Fire Service received the first report of the blaze at 7:50am on Friday at house No. 34 on Road 18 in Uttara Sector 11.
Although the fire was brought under control within about an hour and a half, six people from two families living on the fifth and sixth floors died.
The six-storey building’s owner, Jewel Molla, lived with his family in a duplex spanning the second and third floors at the front of the building, where the fire originated.
Fire Service officials suspect the blaze may have been caused by an electrical short circuit or a gas leak in the kitchen.
Firefighters rescued 16 people from the building and sent them to hospital, where six were declared dead.
Uttara Fire Station Senior Officer Alam Hossain said, “The fire originated on the second floor. Initially, it appears to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, though this is subject to investigation.
“No one died from burns; all six died after their airways were blocked by smoke.”
He added, “There was extensive decorative work using flammable materials in the duplex on the second and third floors. When those caught fire, they produced a huge volume of smoke that filled the entire building.”
By Friday afternoon, crowds of locals gathered outside the building, discussing the sequence of events and lamenting the sudden loss of their neighbours. Black soot marks were visible on every floor, with shattered window panes in places.
Police cordoned off the building with “crime scene” tape as units including the CID’s crime scene team collected evidence, while officers guarded the ground-floor garage.
A neighbour identified only as Shafik said, “Around 7:30am the caretaker came shouting about a fire. From my balcony, I saw flames in a corner room on the second floor.
“People inside were crying from their balconies. One man on the sixth floor tried to escape through the roof, but it was locked. He and his son died.”
Another resident, Ashraful Islam, said the fire spread upward from the second floor.
“If the rooftop lock had been open, many could have gone upstairs. They had no way to come down,” he said.
