Yet another fire

LAHORE: The Ichhra Shopping Centre was engulfed in flames early Thursday morning.

The fire was brought under controlled after two hours. No loss of life was reported though the entire building was destroyed. According to Rescue 1122, fire erupted in the basement of the plaza, spreading to the four-storey building razing the basement as well as the topstorey flats completely. During the two-hour fire fight, people on the third and fourth storey apartments were helped out through exit doors by the rescue teams.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ichhra Market Traders Association general secretary Mian Irfan held the government responsible for the incident. “No emergency equipment is available to extinguish the fire,” he disappointedly noted. Following the fire at Bhandara centre last month, Ichhra traders had urged the district authorities to step up precautionary measures but no one listened, he complained.

He also said that after shops and apartments are sold to people, no authority takes care of the buildings. DCO Sajjad Bhutta remained unavailable for comments but his subordinate Tariq Zaman told The Express Tribune that an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the fire.