Their sense of duty prevailed over all else

For many young people facing unemployment, becoming a firefighter is a dream.

Despite the backbreaking labour and the risks associated, the stability of the job and benefits like monthly rations make it a lucrative deal for those from the lower income brackets. Add to that, heroism is a part of the job.

To bring some solvency to his family is precisely why 22-year-old Rana Miah, from Manikganj, became a firefighter with Sitakunda fire station in November 2020. His family boards with his maternal uncle. 

"His father runs a small shop that is not enough to live on. Rana used to earn 16,000 per month and would send most of the sum back home," said his uncle Yusuf Ali.

For this sum of money, and from an unwavering sense of duty, this young man faced the roaring inferno at the BM container depot on Saturday night, without even knowing what lay inside the containers.

A viral live video of what was possibly Rana's last moments showed a team of firefighters tackling a towering inferno with hose pipes. Just then, a container exploded with a shattering noise. And the screen went black.

One of Rana's legs was blown off.

"We heard about the fire in the morning and learnt that some firefighters were missing. We contacted the fire station, who told us that Rana could not be traced … The owners [of the depot] will get away with their crimes, but we will be the ones left suffering," Yusuf said.

Meanwhile, every word spoken by Alauddin's wife Taslima Sultana was riddled with despair.

"His beautiful face has disappeared completely… [He is] unrecognisable. I fell in love with that face in 2011."

The couple had married seven years ago and have a five-year-old son.

"I don't know where I will live now -- with my in-laws in Noakhali? My parents' house? I want to live with my husband, wherever he is," she wailed. 

She first heard Alauddin might be missing when she got a call from her cousin around 2:00am after he saw the news of the fire.

"Kumira fire station, where he was stationed, told us he was missing. We searched Chattagram Medical College Hospital, the general hospital, went to the spot, and then back to CMCH. We finally found him there when the bodies arrived."

Nipon Chakma, a firefighter transferred to Sitakunda from Rangamati Fire Station, was burnt beyond recognition. His body could not even be identified initially without DNA matching.

His wife Shumona said, "My father-in-law told me in the morning that there was a fire in Sitakunda and asked me to call him [Nipon]. I kept trying but the call would not go through." Nipon had died hours earlier in an explosion alongside his brothers in arms.

Mithu Dewan, also from Rangamati, was stationed in Kumira and had rejoined work after a leave the very day the explosion took place. He too lost his life in the devastating fire.

Mithu and Nipon both were given guards of honour by their comrades yesterday.

The parents of Md Fariduzzaman are currently experiencing the most agonising wait of their lives as their son remains traceless even two days after he went to fight the blaze.

Farid was the elder son of van-puller Saiful Islam and Fulmati Begum, of Rangpur's Mithapukur Upazila.

He joined the force in Sitakunda station two years ago.

His uncle Tota Mia said the family was still depending on the meagre income of Farid's father.

Farid's father, Saiful Islam, said, "I was preparing to quit my job [van pulling] because my son kept saying he is now working and can support us. Oh God, please return him to us!"

As soon as Saiful said this, his agony made him lose consciousness.

Farid had dreams of spending Eid-ul-Azha with his family and sacrificing their own animal -- an economic luxury for many.

The other deceased firefighters whose bodies were found are Shakil Tarafdar, Amran Hossain Majumder, and Moniruzzaman of Kumira fire station, and Ramjanul Islam and Salauddin Kader Chowdhury of Sitakunda fire station.

Amran Hossain, Mithu Dewan and Nipon Chakma were team leaders.

Along with Fariduzzaman, Shafiul Islam of Kumira and Robiul Islam of Sitakunda remain missing.