11 houses gutted in Nilphamari fire

At least 11 houses were gutted in a massive fire in Nilphamari Sadar upazila on Friday night.

According to eyewitnesses, the blaze broke out around 9:00 PM at Patwari Para village under Itakhola union and quickly spread to adjacent houses.

Locals said the fire originated from the house of Dulal Roy before rapidly engulfing nearby dwellings. As many male members of the families were away at the local market at the time, the fire spread unchecked in its early stages, worsening the damage.

Two units from the Nilphamari Fire Service rushed to the scene and managed to bring the blaze under control after nearly two hours of effort.

Most of the affected families lost their homes, household belongings and stored rice in the fire. Two cows belonging to Pratima Roy also perished in the incident.

Fire Service official Makul Hossain confirmed the incident and said that the fire was suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, estimating the total loss at around Tk 8 lakh.

Nilphamari Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mubashira Amatullah visited the affected area on Saturday afternoon and distributed relief among the victims.

Each affected family received blankets, rice, lentils, oil, sugar, salt and cooking spices provided by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

AM