A fire gutted eight houses, two warehouses of jhut (garment rags) and a scrap materials shop at Abdul Ali Nagar of Pahartoli in Chittagong city yesterday.

The fire originated from a cigarette butt in one of the tin-roofed structures around 3:00am and soon engulfed the adjacent areas, said fire service sources. Firemen brought the blaze under control around 6:15am. The loss is estimated at Tk 6 lakh, they said. No casualty was reported.