“Never saw such a horrible scene”

I have never seen such a horrible scene. Hearing the news of the fire, I rushed to the spot and saw that our familiar building was burning to ashes. Some were climbing down through a ladder by breaking the glass of the second floor, and some were jumping from the third floor.

Hassan Ferdous, a resident of Bailey Road, said this while describing the painful memories of the fire on Thursday (February 29) night.

Saidul Azimul Haque, another resident of Bailey Road, said, “I have seen many fire incidents on TV. But what I saw yesternight is simply beyond description. The devastation I saw with my own eyes cannot be expressed in words. I am in a terrible trauma right now. I don't know if I can ever forget this night.”

No one could have imagined that the leap year, which returns once in four years, would bring forth such a dreadful memory of cruelty to remember for the rest of the life. The place of incident is the famous Bailey Road, a magnificent area of the capital. At night, when the light shines throughout the neighbourhood, a state of panic engulfed the whole area as an entire seven-storey building was burnt to ashes within just a few hours. There were restaurants on most of the floors of the building. Usually many people gather here with their families in search of a few moments of pleasure with near and dear ones. But yesternight no one could have predicted the night of horror it would turn into.

Pictures of the building before and after the fire show how much sadness this leap year has left behind taking away at least 46 innocent lives. The burning smell of flesh on Leap Year night will be remembered by the families of the victims and the residents of Bailey Road.

The terrible fire started around 9:45pm. Only a few minutes before the eruption of the fire there was a festive atmosphere in the building. There was a huge crowd of people in front of the building. Everyone present there had the same impression - such a horrible scene had never been seen before.

After the fire was doused around 1:00am, the fire fighters started bringing down the charred bodies of the victims one after another. Within a few moments the Bailey Road delved into mourning as the lights of the rescuers flashed. The wailing of the near and dear ones of the victims filled the darkness of the night. But just a few hours ago there was a Leap Year festival going on there.

Meanwhile, the relatives rushed to the spot in search of the missing persons at night. At this time, a crowd also gathered. Relatives ran from hospital to hospital searching desperately for the whereabouts of the victims.

According to the locals, most of the floors of that building in the busiest area of the capital had food shops. On the second floor of the seven-storey building, there was a food shop called 'Kachchi Bhai'. Apart from a clothing shop on the third floor, there were many food shops on the upper floors. The building also had several famous restaurants including Pizza Inn, Street Oven, and Khana. Apart from this, there are also popular apparel brands like Alien, and Closest Cloud.

Every day after evening, the food shops used to get crowded with customers. Many people used to eat there with their families. On Thursday night, being a leap year day, many people gathered with their families in different restaurants of the building to celebrate the day. There were many women and children among them.

People of different classes including students, teachers, police, employees and businessmen have lost their lives in this terrible fire. As time goes on, the identity of more and more deceased is being known. Among the dead, two students of BUET, a teacher of Viqarunnisa School, a cashier and a waiter of a restaurant have been identified so far. 

According to fire service sources, there were gas cylinders in each of the restaurants. Due to which the intensity of the fire was very severe.

Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense Brigadier General Md Main Uddin said, “There was an apparel store on the second floor of the building. As we saw, there were restaurants with gas cylinders on other floors of the building due to which the fire spread quickly and burned fiercely.

He said that more people died of suffocation instead of being burnt in the fire.
He also said, “Except the second floor, there were cylinders on the stairs of every floor of the building which is very dangerous, because, if there is a fire, the cylinder explodes. The building was a furnace of fire waiting to be ignited.”

“Many people were trapped inside the building due to the fire. Many took shelter on the roof. Over the phone, they informed their relatives from the roof that they were still alive and asked for rescue,” he added.

Meanwhile, at 5:40am in the morning, the bodies of the victims were handed over to their relatives. District administration, police and fire service members handed over the bodies to the family members. So far, Dhaka district administration has known the identity of 16 victims. The autopsy reports of the deceased were prepared at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital at night. The bodies were then handed over to the relatives.

Kalabagan Police Station Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Golam Hossain said that the bodies of the deceased, who were identified by the relatives, have been handed over through legal process.

According to the latest news, a total of 46 people were killed and 22 more were critically injured in the fire. It is feared that the death toll may increase further as the condition of some of the injured is very severe.

The extent of damage could not be ascertained yet, according to the authorities concerned.

The Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defense has formed a five-member probe committee to find out the reason behind this terrible fire, the fire safety status of the building and the cause of the high number of casualties.