Humanitarian Response to the Fire in Rohingya Refugee Camp 5

On 7 January 2024 around 1:00 am, a devastating fire broke out in Rohingya refugee Camp 5. The fire spread out through blocks A, B, C and D in Camp 5, and was stopped by fire breaks or open corridors between the camps before it could spread into Camps 6 and 8W. Immediately after the fire incident, Rohingya refugee safety unit volunteers (SUVs), local firefighters, Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD), Armed Police Battalion (APBn), and authorities controlled the situation by 4:00 am. UNHCR deployed 26 three-wheeler Mobile Firefighting Units (MFFUs) from different camps to the hilly, hard-reach-area, while IOM was on standby with 18 additional MFFUs. Under the leadership of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), humanitarian partners immediately arrived on the spot to assess the damage and established a harmonized response.