8 shops, 2 houses gutted

At least eight shops and two dwelling houses were gutted in a devastating fire in Baizid  area in Chittagong city on Friday. Fire Service and Civil Defense sources said the fire originated from a dwelling house in Baluchhora Bazar under Baizid Police Station around 11:00am and quickly engulfed other shops and houses around. Six firefighting vehicles from three units of Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and put down the blaze after over two hours of hectic efforts. Fire service sources said properties worth Tk 0.5 million were gutted in the fire, according to a news agency.