Fatulla madrasa fire: 63 students in hospital after smoke inhalation, four in ICU

Sixty-three students have been admitted to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute after falling ill from smoke in a fire at the library of Jamia Ashrafia Qawmi Madrasa in Fatulla, Narayanganj. Four of them are in critical condition and have been kept in the intensive care unit (ICU), and more students are still arriving at the hospital for treatment.

The incident took place at around 2am on Monday night on the second floor of the five-storey building of Jamiatul Ashrafia Madrasa in the Shantidhara area of Fatulla. The fire is initially thought to have started from an electrical short circuit in the library room.

On Tuesday morning (November 10), a visit to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute found some students waiting for treatment while others were being treated. Anxiety and concern were visible among the students who had come for treatment.

Some of the madrasa's teachers are receiving treatment themselves, while others are busy caring for the students. Most of the students are aged between 15 and 20.

Dr Sultan Mahmud Shikder, resident surgeon of the institute's emergency department, said 63 students have received treatment there so far, four of them in the ICU, and the number of patients is still rising. However, none of them has burn marks on the body; they are all suffering mainly from breathing difficulties caused by the smoke.

Mufti Azizur Rahman, the madrasa's education secretary, said there was no student at the spot where the fire started, but smoke spread through the whole madrasa after the fire broke out, making the students ill. As the madrasa has several staircases, everyone was able to get out quickly.

According to the students, everyone was asleep deep in the night when the fire suddenly started in the library room. The blaze intensified within moments, and thick black smoke from burning furniture and large quantities of paper darkened the entire floor.

Local residents rushed in immediately after the incident, began rescue efforts and sent the injured to hospital quickly. While the seriously ill were sent to the burn institute, others were admitted to local hospitals.

The names of Arif, Azizul Haque Siam, Hasnat, Naimul, Yusuf, Tanvir, Khairul, Hemayet Ullah, Labib, Ashraf and Abid were initially known among the sick students.

Five units of the fire service reached the spot quickly after receiving the news and brought the fire under control. Mohammad Jahangir Alam, senior station officer of Kanchpur Modern Fire Service and Civil Defence Station, said five units from the Kanchpur and Shibu Market fire stations rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control through joint efforts.

The fire burned the library's books and valuable furniture, causing extensive damage to the madrasa. An investigation is under way to determine the exact cause of the accident and the total extent of the damage.