Blue Area fire: Rescue teams felt ‘ill-equipped’ to control blaze

Shopkeepers from the plaza say that timely response from fire brigade could have prevented a lot of damage.

ISLAMABAD: The fire that broke out on Sunday in the upscale Beverly Centre and gutted around 10 shops was caused by short-circuiting, says the internal report of the Rescue and Fire-Brigade of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). It also concedes that delayed response by fire-fighters aggravated the situation.

Showing resentment, the traders said their property could have been saved had there been a timely response from the fire department.

A majority of the shopkeepers blamed an old generator, for causing the fire that engulfed the entire fifth floor of the centre in Blue Area.

Co-owner of the plaza, Mian Abid, said after a ‘power trip’, the generator of a cellular company caught fire as it had weak pins. The pins are used to start the generator.

A senior fire officer told The Express Tribune that the fire brigade could not reach the fifth floor of the plaza due to lack of skill and equipment. None of the 44 fire tenders proved to be helpful. Four snorkels and an aerial ladder were also brought to the site, but to no avail.

Moreover, “the fire took four to six minutes to spread inside the plaza while the fire brigade staff took 30 to 40 minutes to reach the site,” he said.

Additional Director Rescue and Fire Directorate Zafar Iqbal, when contacted, consented to the findings of the report. He added that the report would be sent to the chairman of the authority.

A few days before the incident, the fire department had informed officials about violations in the by-laws of the building control act by many plaza owners. The rescue teams also said they faced difficulties in getting access to the top floors of buildings and there were no clearly marked entry and exit points, delaying rescue work.

But Mian Rauf, owner of the centre, said the plaza was constructed in accordance with by-laws.

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ahmed Ali said the Islamabad administration had quickly informed authorities to launch the rescue operation and to also halt the supply of Sui gas to the plaza. He said Rescue 1122 teams from Rawalpindi city were also called in who helped CDA brigade control the fire on time.

All of the shops gutted down, barring three, were uninsured. Rauf said the plaza would have to be reconstructed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2011.