While asleep: Six of a family die in early morning fire in Lohari Gate

They were asleep when the four-storey building caught fire

LAHORE:

Six members of a family died in a fire that broke out in a four-storey building in Lohari Gate area early on Thursday, police and rescue officials said.

The house in Jhanda Bazaar was owned by Muhammad Shahid, a fruit-seller, who died in the blaze along with his wife Qaisara Shahid, their son Ali Shahid, 12, daughter Ayesha Shahid, Ali Imran, 4, and Shahid’s sister Gulshan Bibi, 70.

The family was asleep when the fire broke out on the fourth floor at 2.30am. It later spread to the second floor where Shahid and his family lived.

Imran Zafar, his wife Tehmina Imrana, Mudassir and Imran’s six-month-old son were rescued by neighbours.

Sadiq Iqbal, a Crime Scene Unit expert, said a preliminary investigation had indicated that the fire was caused by an electric short-circuit.

“We were asleep when we heard loud screams.

When we stepped out, we saw flames and thick smoke all over the building,” said Muhammad Shahzad.

Abdul Razzaq, another neighbour, said the building was located next to Masjid Ayyam. He said some of the neighbours had gone inside the mosque to break the wall and rescue the victims.

The ground floor houses some shops, including one run by Shahid. He lived on the second floor with his family.

The third floor was a warehouse to keep fruits, vegetables and wooden-crates.

Gulshan Bibi and her family lived on the fourth floor. It took Rescue 1122 six hours to put out the fire.

Ehtisham, a neighbour, said residents of the area, had first tried to extinguish the fire on their own. They had later called Rescue 1122 and Fire-Brigade that arrived in about half an hour, he said.

A Rescue official said rescue teams had faced great difficulty in reaching the site owing to narrow streets in the Walled City.

He said encroachments near the building, too, had hindered the rescue effort.

“A lot of live electric wires, signboards and steel sheds created problems for the fire-fighters.”

The wooden crates on the third floor had added to the intensity of the fire, the officials said. The chief minister has sought a report from the authorities concerned. Those injured were said to be out of danger.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2016.