Armed attack: Fire station in Saddar targeted

Firefighters were on their way to extinguish a blaze when armed men stopped the truck and forced them to return.

KARACHI:

Five firefighters were injured when nearly 30 armed men attacked a fire station opposite Rainbow Centre in Saddar at 3:30 am on Thursday. A team of firefighters was on its way to extinguish a blaze at a paper warehouse when a group of men stopped the truck, held the firefighters at gun point and forced them return to the fire station.

The injured included Ali Manzil, Hassan and Tariq.

According to the municipal services executive district officer, Masood Alam, the men opened fire and damaged two fire trucks. “At the time of the attack, 35 families were inside the firefighters’ residential quarters,” said the chief fire officer (CFO), Muhammad Ehtisham Uddin. The suspects harassed the families and women and children found shelter on the building’s roof.

“The police were present but they failed to protect the firefighters and their families,” added the CFO. The station has been shut down till the staffers’ security can be guaranteed. The firefighters do not carry any typical sign of affiliation to any political party so they serve irrespective of religion or ethnic status.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2011.