No one was inside the factory at the time of the fire,
presumably because of the holiday and because it occurred during the night.  Soon after the fire began, however, people
from the neighborhood came to the factory and attempted to put out the fire
with water. It was then that a person, “who simply got too close to the flames,”
was injured, says Majumder. The victim, who is not an employee of the factory, suffered
from burns on his arm and leg. It is unknown if he received any medical
attention or compensation for his injuries.

The dying/finishing section is expected to reopen on Saturday,
November 10^th. Until then, 60 to 70 of the nearly 200 workers of the
damaged section are now working in other sections of the factory on an
irregular basis. The rest of the workers were informed they would work on a stand-by basis, meaning they
could be called at any moment to return to work. Despite the unpredictable
scheduling, all workers are expected to receive their monthly payment.

While good timing kept the 1700 to 1800 regularly employed
Eurotex workers from facing a destructive fire, no one should rely only on good
timing or good luck when it comes to their safety at work. The frequency of factory
fires in Bangladeshi proves the urgency for change in companies’ approach to
fire safety. This incident, in addition to the deadly fires in other factories,
should act as a serious wake-up call to every garment-buying company. Help us
urge companies to be more proactive about fire safety to ensure that no more
fires injure or jeopardize the work of Bangladeshi workers!

Three brothers own Eurotex Knitwear Limited, a company that includes three RMG
factories. The Factory is currently supplying to V.F. Corporation, Pierre
Cardin, and NKD.

The
following companies have also been linked to Eurotex Knitwear Limited:

Takko,
Auchan, Orchestra, Earnesting Family, Suncity, Zolla, Lidl, V&D, Rannier
(Brazil), Vegotex , Primark, JBC, Li & Fung, Disney, Hello Kitty, Hea Net,
Mark One, Mark & Spencer, C&A, Inter Sports, Wal-Mart, Target, Nike.

Laura Gutierrez is an ILRF volunteer, currently based in Dhaka. Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and The Daily Star have also reported on the fire; please note that the factory name is misspelled in their articles.