The owner of Beauty Fashion, a readymade garment factory in Dhaka’s Mirpur-11, has alleged that a fire that broke out at her factory on Friday night was a deliberate act of arson.
Factory owner Soma said there were no electrical faults or ongoing work inside the factory when the blaze erupted, making the incident highly suspicious. “There was no reason for a fire to start on its own. Someone must have set it intentionally.”
The fire started around 10:30pm on the top floor of the six-storey building on Kalshi Road. Seven firefighting units responded and brought it under control within two hours. Fire Service officials said they began operations 27 minutes after receiving the emergency call at 10:12pm and contained the flames by 12:05am. The fire was doused after an hour and a half.
Flames and smoke were seen from the building around 10:15pm and the fire service was informed via the national emergency hotline (999). Firefighters initially faced difficulty reaching the top floor but later used an aerial ladder. By the end of the operation, almost everything on the sixth floor was destroyed, according to eyewitnesses.
Sources said the lower three floors of the building functioned as a wedding hall, while the fourth and fifth floors were vacant. The sixth floor, where Beauty Fashion operated, stored roughly Tk2 crore worth of winter garments. Soma said: “Over the past five days, I had stored about 30,000 finished and 7,000 unfinished pieces of winter clothing here. The entire 4,500-square-foot space was filled with garments.”
She alleged the fire was set from outside. “The floor had only a collapsible gate, no shutter. Anyone standing a few feet away could easily set it alight. I am certain this was a planned act of sabotage,” she said.
Md Saleh Uddin, deputy director (Dhaka) of the Fire Service Headquarters, said: “We used aerial ladders and standpipes to quickly control the fire and prevent it from spreading to other floors or nearby buildings.” He added that investigators initially found old furniture, documents, and jute fabric. “We are not yet sure if it was indeed a functioning garment factory. A probe committee will determine the cause of the fire and assess the damage.”
Pallabi Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Abul Kaium said it was still unclear whether the fire was accidental or intentional. “We are waiting for the fire service report, though police are also conducting a separate investigation.”
No casualties were reported, but Soma said all her stored goods were destroyed and called for a thorough investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible.
