Following a series of recent fire incidents in the Rohingya refugee camps, another incident occurred on March 15, 2023, at approximately 3:30 am local time in CARE Bangladesh-managed camp 16.
Rohingya volunteers from the disaster management unit, site management team, and community members immediately responded to contain the fire. Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense department also arrived at the scene, and the fire was controlled in a joint effort at around 5:00 am local time.
As well as being the camp manager for the affected camp, CARE also has site management, WASH, gender-based violence (GBV) and protection activities. The source of the fire is yet to be confirmed. The fire affected the second biggest block in camp 16, damaging several facilities, including child-friendly space, adolescent-friendly space, and WASH facilities; only one shelter was partially damaged, and two minor injuries were reported at the time of this release.
Roberts Sila, Head of Cox’s Bazaar Programs in CARE Bangladesh, said:
“These fire incidents are becoming more and more frequent. Just a few days back, there was a massive fire in camp 11, and last night there was another one in camp 16. Thankfully no one was severely injured, although the incident occurred late at midnight. 100 volunteers from the disaster management unit and site management team were available for immediate response. CARE staff are now working on a rapid assessment to understand the needs of the affected families.
"Shelter partner for the affected block, HEKS EPER, has already mobilized shelter support for the affected families and injured people have already been moved to health posts. Amidst already tense situation in the camps with reduced funding, such incidents are creating great stress on the people and resources.”
Ramesh Singh, Country Director for CARE Bangladesh expressed profound grief, saying:
“Before the Rohingya community could recover from the losses of the fire incident on March 5, another fire incident occurred in the CARE Bangladesh managed camp 16. It is remorseful; luckily, there were no major injuries. CARE staff and volunteers are working relentlessly to ensure all the support to the affected families.”
Notes to editors
For media enquiries please contact David Moore, Media Officer at CARE International UK, moore@careinternational.org
