Dreams go up in flames

With dreams of a new beginning, Mohammad Hasan and his family were eagerly waiting for his wedding, which was supposed to take place today.

The family did as much shopping as they could, getting gold ornaments, panjabis, and sarees for the bride and others.

Despite working at a private water supply company for a modest income, the young man didn't spare any effort in planning his big day, but all the excitement turned to ashes just the day before the wedding.

Flames devoured everything within his home, leaving his five-member family with nothing but the clothes they were wearing when tragedy struck..

Photo: Star

Like Hasan's, 50 other families living in a slum near Amin Colony in Chattogram city shared the same fate following a devastating fire yesterday morning.

While the families managed to escape the inferno with their loved ones, their possessions  were consumed by fire, leaving them with an uncertain future.

"I had purchased items worth Tk 40,000 from the market the previous night, meant to be sent to the bride's house today (yesterday). But everything was reduced to ashes. Now, there's no choice but to postpone the wedding," Hasan said.

Abdul Halim, deputy director of Agrabad fire service headquarters, said, "The fire started around 6:00am but we were informed at 6:45am. Besides, we had to struggle to enter the slum as access roads were narrow. We brought the fire under control after an hour's effort by eight units."

Evacuation became critical as  the slum's surrounded  by fences and sidewalls, with the only entry and exit points being  two warehouses nearby.

The warehouses also became engulfed in flames, forcing residents to break through by cutting the fences and climbing the walls.

Sumi Akhter, her husband and two children were among them.

"When the fire broke out, my two children were sleeping. The only escape route from the slum was near the warehouses, so we got trapped. My four-year-old daughter's hair caught fire. Then my husband broke through a fence and brought us out," she said.

A school named "Rabeya Digital KG & High School" inside the slum was also damaged, and all the books and educational equipment were gutted by the fire, said Amena Khatun, a teacher at the school.

Shamim Hossain, the owner of 25 houses in the slum, said, "Everyone here uses cylinder gas and a shared electric line. But we're still unsure what caused the fire."