Plaza fire claims five lives

Rescue 1122 says residents were unaware of building’s fire exits

LAHORE: At least five people were killed and six injured when a fire engulfed the Garden Height Plaza in Garden Town early on Tuesday morning. The victims were shifted to the nearby Lahore Jinnah Hospital.

The fire erupted at around 6:30 am on the ground floor, according to Rescue 1122, and spread to other floors. However, the basement of the plaza remained safe from damage.

The inferno reportedly erupted in the “Options Bakery” situated in Garden Heights Plaza near Barkat Market. The cause of the fire has not been determined. By the time firefighters were able to reach the scene, the blaze had spread nearby offices, shops and housing apartments situated in the seven-storey plaza.



At least 20 vehicles of Rescue 1122, including a ten-storey tender ladder, took part in the operation. Fire engulfed two floors of the plaza. However, due to the heavy thick smoke caused by the burning of combustion, the hazardous effects were widespread.

A rescue official said that people in the apartment were asleep and were suffocated by the smoke. Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Muhammad Farooq said there was no fire alarm in the building and people living in the apartments were caught unaware. He added many did not even know where the emergency exit was.

He said that installing an emergency exit is one thing and every resident being aware of its location is another. “Building safety bylaws state that a map of the building must show the fire exits, but the poster was missing in this case.”  Rescue 1122, using a ten-storey tender ladder vehicle, evacuated over 11 victims who were in an unconscious condition and shifted them to Jinnah Hospital for treatment. However, five of them were pronounced dead on arrival. Four of the deceased were identified as Shakeel Yasin, 15, Talib Hussain, 30, Shahbaz, 25, and Shahid Nazeer, 40.



A rescue official said that the victims suffocated and bore no burn marks on their bodies at the time of evacuation. A heavy contingent of police, Punjab Forensic Science Agency experts and Police Crime Scene Unit also reached the spot. They collected forensic evidence and recorded the statements of eyewitnesses. Police also took Aleem, the owner of the plaza, into custody for investigations.

Deputy Commissioner Sameer Ahmad and Lahore Lord Mayor Colonel Mubashir also visited the scene. While speaking on the occasion, Mubashir said that the government was not responsible for everything. “The plaza owners should ensure safety measures are installed in their buildings,” he maintained.

It took at least four hours for fire-fighters to completely extinguish the fire. A rescue officer, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune said that most high-rise buildings of the metropolis were not completely following fire safety protocols. He pointed out this may lead to disaster if such an incident occurred again.

This is not the first incident of fire in the city to have claimed so many lives. In mid-March, four members of a family were burnt in a fire in a house in Wapda Town. At least 13 people had died and several injured in an incident of fire in a plaza in Anarkali Bazar in 2014.  In January 2017, seven workers hired at Orange Line Metro Train project had died in a fire in Manawan.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2018.