Karachi battles third fire in 10 days

This time, warehouse of medicine and chemicals catches fire

KARACHI: The largest metropolis of the country witnessed what was the third reported blaze in the last 10 days. This time, a three-storey building being used as a warehouse of medicines and chemicals caught fire, which could not be contained for more than a good two hours, on Friday.

The building is located behind Swami Narayan Mandir on MA Jinnah Road near Denso Hall. The blaze was finally doused after a rescue operation that lasted more than two hours, causing minor injuries to one fire fighter and a rescue volunteer.



The rescue operation

The chief fire officer of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Tehseen Siddiqui, told The Express Tribune that a fire broke out in a three-storey building at around 4pm. He added that due to the busy traffic hours and narrow streets, it was very difficult for the fire tenders to reach the spot. Therefore, it took them around 30 minutes to reach the location. While the actual cause of the fire had to be ascertained, Siddiqui believes that it could have erupted due to a short circuit.

A total 10 fire tenders participated in the rescue operation. However, Siddiqui explained that the operation became difficult as the backup fire tenders were stuck in traffic.

According to Siddiqui, the flames had been contained within one hour of the operation. However, a few chemical drums later caught fire, which prolonged the operation. He told The Express Tribune that they have controlled the fire and cooling process is now underway.

"The roof of the building was made of tin sheets, which also fell as they could not bear the heat of the fire, causing further difficulties for the fire officers," said Siddiqui.

Along with a few tankers of water, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board managing director Misbahuddin Farid also reached the spot to facilitate fire fighters in the operation.



Meanwhile, Absar Mohsin, a witness at the scene, told The Express Tribune that fire erupted in the building before 4pm and it took almost 50 minutes for the fire tenders to reach the spot. He added that they had informed the fire brigade about the blaze as they saw smoke coming out of the building. "After arriving at the scene, the fire tenders faced severe water shortage," said Mohsin.

City SP Shahla Qureshi told The Express Tribune that police initially evacuated the adjacent buildings as it was feared that the fire could extend to adjacent buildings, including a nearby private school. She added that while no death was reported, a fire fighter and a rescue volunteer were injured in the fire.

According to her, the police took control of the area as a number of residents had gathered in the vicinity, obstructing the rescue operation.

She explained that part of MA Jinnah Road adjacent to the location was also closed for traffic for the operation, which was reopened for traffic after 6:30pm.

Responding to a question about the owners, Qureshi said that the building was owned by Saeed Ibrahim and Tauseef, who were not there at the scene. She added that since the owners have not arrived at the site, therefore it is difficult for the police to calculate the loss caused by the fire.

Meanwhile, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar also reached the spot. In his short media talk, he said that chemical warehouses in the centre of residential areas are very dangerous and that he has ordered the relevant authorities to figure out how people have established such chemical warehouses. He added that appropriate measures will be taken to close them down in residential areas.

Third in line

This was the third fire to have erupted in the last 10 days. On Saturday, surveyor Arif and Tahir, were killed as a fire, preceded by a blast, erupted at a methanol storage tank located near the port's Gate No 1 in Keamari. Earlier, on November 23, a similar incident occurred near Gate No 2 in two storage tanks that were reportedly operated by Shell Oil Marketing Company.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2016.