Food joints closed for repairs as Dolmen deals with fire aftermath

Fire broke out inside Chachajee but quickly spread to Hoagies

KARACHI: Two restaurants inside the food court of Dolmen Mall, Clifton, are closed for repairs as the mall deals with the aftermath of the fire that broke out on Friday evening.

The fire broke out at around 7:30pm inside Chachajee restaurant on the third floor of the mall, where the food court is located. According to a cleaner who was working on the third floor on the day of the incident, the fire spread to the next restaurant, Hoagies.



"One of the workers at Hobnob café [which is adjacent to Hoagies] confirmed that a fire had broken out," he recalled. "Although it was brought under control within half an hour, the people sitting inside the food court rushed out," he said, adding that he was glad that no one was harmed.

"The incident was merely [caused] by combustion in the exhaust, which resulted in heavy smoke affecting the restaurant," said Dolmen customer service officer Faisal Siddiqui. "Everything is normal and under control now."

The owner of Hoagies, who requested anonymity, said it was a small fire that affected two restaurants since they are both connected. "The fire broke out from the duct of the exhaust fan but no one was harmed," he said.

For his part, Siddiqui added that both the affected restaurants have been closed for repairs, which will take place at night when the mall is closed for the public. Hoagies will decide on Monday when they will reopen.



Defence Housing Authority's fire brigade control room officer, Nasir Mehmud, said that the fire was extinguished with the help of their fire brigade vehicles. "The mall officials requested a snorkel, which is a heavy-duty vehicle, but we sent a regular vehicle and it was able to extinguish the fire," he explained.

Even on Saturday evening, a faint smell of smoke persisted in the food court, said one of the customers standing in line. The smell did not, however, deter many people from heading to the food court for a quick bite. "Such a large number of people here today is testament to the fact that the people of Karachi cannot be stopped from going out and, that too, on a weekend," joked a visitor at the mall.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2016.