14 fire incidents reported in 16 hours across country: Fire service

A total of 14 fire incidents were reported in 16 hours across the country, the Fire Service and Civil Defence said.

"Between 6:00pm on 5 January to 10:00am on 6 January [16 hours], the Fire Service and Civil Defence received 14 reports of arson caused by disorderly people across the country," the government agency said in a statement on Saturday (6 January).

"Six vehicles and nine structures [one Buddhist temple and eight educational institutions] were burnt and four people were killed in these fire incidents," it added.

According to the fire service, one incident was reported in Dhaka city.

Meanwhile, four incidents were reported Dhaka division (one in Narayanganj, two in Gazipur and one in Kaliakair), two cases were reported in Sylhet Division, four were reported in Chattogram Division, three in Mymensingh Division.

A total of 32 firefighting units and 151 personnel worked to douse the flames.

5 January

• 18:18 - Panchabati Mor, Fatulla, Narayanganj, one pickup was set on fire
• 21:05 - Golapbagh, Gopibagh, Dhaka, Benapole Express train was set on fire

6 January

• 00:05am - Chunarughat, Habiganj, fire in primary school
• 01:24am - Fire at East Chandana Primary School, Gazipur
• 02:44am - Fire at TNT Adarsh High School, Gazipur
• 02:44am - Sylhet South, one truck was set on fire
• 02:45am - Two covered vans set on fire in Feni
• 02:50am - Buddhist temple set on fire in Ramu
• 04:33am - Primary school set on fire in Gafargaon
• 05:00am - Primary school set on fire in Chattogram
• 05:50am - Pickup-van set on fire in Sitakund
• 06:34 am - Primary school set on fire in Mymensingh
• 08:05am - Primary school set on firein Mouchak, Kaliakore
• 09:15am- Primary school set on fire in Nandail, Mymensingh

Polling centre burnt in Habiganj

A group of unidentified people set fire to Dhalaipar Government Primary School, a polling centre at Chandona village of Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj district, on wee hours of Saturday.

Md Manikuzzaman, in charge of Chunarughat Fire Station, said miscreants set the school on fire around 12am, which was likely to be used as a polling station in the upazila under Habiganj-4 constituency.

On information, a firefighting unit rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze.

Three rooms, benches, desks, chairs, tables, doors, and the tin roof were gutted in the fire.

Hillol Roy, officer-in-charge of Chunarughat Police Station, said police are trying to identify the arsonists.

Primarily, it is suspected that the extent of the damage caused by the fire is Tk6 lakh.

Cement-carrying truck set on fire in Sirajganj

A group of unidentified people set fire to a truck carrying cement in the Nalka Overbridge area of Salanga in Sirajganj, situated along the western highway of the Bangabandhu Bridge, reports UNB.
 
The incident occurred when the truck, en route from Narayanganj to Bogura with cement, experienced engine trouble on the western side of the Nalka Overbridge around 1:30am on Saturday, said Salanga police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Anamul Haque.

The driver had stopped the truck to address the engine issues, said the OC.

At that moment, around five to six masked individuals approached the truck and set fire to the vehicle, forcing the driver and helper to flee for their lives. Although the driver and helper quickly attempted to extinguish the flames using sand, the fire engulfed the truck, he said.

Being informed, police went to the sport and took the truck for further investigation. The police are working to apprehend those responsible for the incident, said the OC.

303 fire incidents in 71 days

Between 28 October 2023 and 6 January 2024, a total of 303 fire incidents were reported to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, the organisation said in a press statement today (6 January). 
A total of eight people were killed and five were injured in these incidents that burned 302 vehicles and 23 establishments.

According to the Fire Service, the burned vehicles include five trains, 176 buses, 49 trucks, 25 covered vans, 21 motorcycles, 10 pickups, three CNGs, three private cars, three microbuses, three human haulers, one ambulance, one police car, one fire service vehicle and one Nosimon, a local three wheeler.

Meanwhile, the burned establishments include nine educational institutions, five BNP offices, one Awami League offices, one police box, one councillor's office, one Buddhist temple, two bus counters, two showrooms and two power distribution offices. 

Of the 71 days during the said period, the fire incidents occurred on 47 days.

Most of the incidents took place during the month of December. 17 days of December witnessed fire incidents.