Seven fire engines extinguished the flames after a fire broke out at a furniture shop in Bangshal, Dhaka. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, April 7, 2025 (BSS) - An elderly person died and 17 others were injured in a fire at a furniture shop in the city's Bangshal area early today.

The deceased was identified as Amin Uddim (65).

The fire originated in a furniture shop housed on the ground floor of a five-storey building at Makrosha Bazar, Nazimuddin Road, Bangshal, Dhaka at 4:10am, Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) media officer Khairul Islam Rony told BSS.

On information,seven fire engines from Siddiqbazar and Lalbagh fire stations rushed to the spot within two minutes and doused the flame by 4:50am.

The fire fighters prevented the fire from spreading to second to fifth floors, which are residential flats, he said.

Asked about the cause behind the fire, he said that they primarily suspected that the fire originated due to an electric short circuit.

Rony said they rescued 18 persons from the flats and all of them were injured due to suffocation in smoke.

Six of the injured were sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 12 others were given first aid on the spot, duty officer Md Shahjahan Hossain of fire control room told BSS.

The extent of damage could not be ascertained immediately.

Md Farouk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost confirmed that an elderly person died at the DMCH, likely due to smoke inhalation.