Rescue the rescuers: ‘Karachi’s fire department needs new machinery’

Wasim Akhtar requests authorities for vehicles, upgrades for city’s rescue dept

KARACHI: The city’s mayor, Wasim Akhtar, has requested the Chief of Army Staff and Chief Justice of Pakistan to help procure machinery for the fire and rescue department. He has also requested immediate support from the federal and Sindh governments.

Akhtar said this while attending a fire department rehabilitation ceremony near Peoples Chowrangi as chief guest. He informed the media on the occasion that ever since he took over the office of the mayor he had focused on bringing changes in the city’s rescue department.

He said that when he was sworn in as mayor only one snorkel was available for rescue operations. However, he managed to repair another two snorkels, which are now ready to take part in rescue operations. He explained that 18 fire tenders are being repaired and will soon join the existing fleet. Out of the 22 fire stations in the city, Akhtar said 18 fire stations are operational, but a city this large needs at least 230 fire stations. He said at least Rs5 billion is needed for the improvement of the fire brigade.

Snorkels are able to extinguish fires at buildings with a maximum height of eight floors but Karachi is a thriving city with a multitude of buildings and plazas that exceed this floor limit.



Without improving the rescue department and a moratorium on permission being granted to construct high-rise buildings, Akhtar said he fears sooner or later a high-rise will catch fire and the department will be helpless to rescue its inhabitants.

Akhtar also mentioned that the fire department’s fire fighters did not even have proper uniforms and their salaries were also always delayed. But at the end of the day, they are the ones putting their lives at risk to rescue citizens, he said. “The fire department has been neglected just like the government provincial government has neglected the whole province,” lamented Akhtar.

The mayor went on to criticise lawmakers and said politicians who prefer to spend most of their time in Islamabad should be concerned about the city that feeds the whole country with its revenue, because if the condition of Karachi deteriorates then the whole country will suffer.



He added that all the ministers and government officials receive new vehicles while the fire department is using 35-year-old machinery.

We have written to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to improve the conditions of the fire department on an immediate basis otherwise if the city faces any severe calamity it will be difficult to save the lives of the people, he told participants at the event. He advised residents to install fire extinguishers at offices, schools and homes in order to counter any emergency situations.

I request everyone - the chief justice, Chief of Army Staff and even the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairperson - to pass a resolution for the betterment of this department, he pleaded.

Also present at the event, Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, said that many of these fire engines were out of order and it was due to the mayor’s hard work that they had been brought into a working condition.

Edhi added that throughout the world, these vehicles are not used for more than five years, however, in Karachi they were being used for over 30 years. He added that the fire department has great potential and sincere officers, as they managed to perform rescues in the city despite limited resources, therefore the federal and provincial government should come forward and support the mayor.