Thousands of people living in the old town center of Dhaka are under constant threat from structural fires due to unsafe warehouses used for storing hazardous materials and chemicals.

On the night of February 20, 2019, a rapidly spreading fire broke out in Old Dhaka’s Chawk Bazar, a centuries-old district dating back nearly 400 years to the Mughal era. The fire erupted in Wahed Mansion and rapidly engulfed adjacent buildings, killing over 71 people and reducing the mansion to ashes.

In this success story, ADPC documents the experience and response of the duty officer that was on call that night and provides and over of how it is helping train urban volunteers to respond to such emergencies in Bangladesh.

The Strengthening Earthquake Resilience in Bangladesh (SERB) is a program funded by USAID Bangladesh Mission implemented by ADPC since 2013.

Around 1,640 Urban Community Volunteers have been trained in 11 Districts to date. The SERB Program continues to support the Fire Service & Civil Defence (FSCD) and contributes to the development of 62,000 community urban volunteers nationwide as mandated by the Government of Bangladesh.