According to local and police sources the fire started at 1:40am in the new building of the sweater factory Chun-Ji Knit Ltd. located at Uttar Badda Shatarkool.

Police said the fire started in the storehouse of threads located on the ground floor of the factory and quickly spread through the entire building.

Fourteen fire brigade units from four stations, Khilgaon, Tejgaon, Baridhara and Ramna fire brigade headquarters, rushed to the spot and managed to tame the fire by 3:40am.

Garments sources alleged that all the apparel machinery and goods were burned down because the fire fighting units arrived late at the factory.

In response, Fire Service and Civil Defense officials said that the delay occurred because they were having trouble maneuvering their fire engines through the narrow alleys in the area. They also mentioned that two of the fire fighters, Selim and Shahidul Islam, were injured while trying to bring the blaze under control.

Quoting a security guard of the factory, police said that the factory shut down at 11:00pm on Friday and only three security guards were on duty outside the building.

The security guard said he notified some officials at the old building of the factory as soon as he noticed thick plumes of smoke rising from the ground floor of the new building at around 1:40am.

Factory officials said they lost sweaters made of fleece worth around Tk.4 lakh, raw materials and over 300 machines in the fire.

Factory officials visited the factory yesterday morning.

Police and fire brigade officials were unable to identify the cause of the fire.