Firefighters or the owners of the chemical company could not ascertain the origin of the fire.

The depot on the ground floor of a three-storeyed building of Nazma Chemical Works on Jelepara Lane caught fire at around 5:30am and engulfed the adjacent buildings.

Containers full of chemicals, rubber and chemical oil exploded one after another during the incident, causing panic in the densely populated area.

Forty-eight large and 40 small drums of shoe solution and 40 containers of chemical oil were burnt, said Ruhul Amin, assistant depot keeper, who also received burn injuries.

The blaze also burnt several shops adjacent to the building.

Three teams of the Fire Brigade from its headquarters, Postogola and Sadarghat stations reached the area at about 7:00am and brought the fire under control by 8:00am.

Firefighters Chand Mia, Fazlul Haq, Imran, Faisal, Nasiruddin Bepari, Jahangir, Abul Kashem, Mizan, Mahtab and Sattar were injured while trying to douse the fire.

"They were injured in explosions of containers of chemicals," said a Fire Brigade officer.

Some of the injured received treatment at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Later, Station Officer Chand Mia and diver Fazlul were shifted to a clinic in Dhanmondi.

The injured locals are Sumon, Fazlur Rahman, Faruq and Manik.

Owner of the depot, Nazma Begum, said the fire caused her a loss of Tk 15 lakh.

ANOTHER FIRE AT WARI
At least four firefighters suffered burns while dousing fire at a plastic factory and warehouse at Wari in Sutrapur last evening.

Police said the fire originated from an electric short circuit at about 7:05pm and soon engulfed the factory Pinky Trader and its warehouse.

Eleven fire fighting units from the headquarters and nearby stations rushed to the spot and could bring the fire under control at about 8:20pm, fire officials said.