A large pile of dumped pipes has been in flames for several hours at a warehouse of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in the Barafkal area of Narayanganj city. 

No casualties were reported as the fire was still burning at 5pm on Saturday after it started around 12:45pm.

It was taking time to douse the fire because the pipes are made of rubber and plastic, said Anwarul Haque, an assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.

“We used foam to douse the fire, but it didn’t work in an open space,” he said.

As many as eight units of the fire service were working to keep the fire from spreading by spraying water from all the sides. “The intensity of the fire has decreased,” Anwarul said. 

The BIWTA and the fire service could not confirm the origin of the fire.

Anwarul said the first units of the firefighters reached the site minutes after they were informed about the fire at 1:18pm.

BIWTA officials and witnesses said workers tried to douse the fire first. They called the fire service after failing to tame the flames.

Md Rafiul Hassan, a member of BIWTA, said a committee would be formed to investigate the origin of the fire.