Flames erupt in three buildings across Karachi

Fire breaks out in workshops, bakery, towel factory, reducing goods to ash


​ Our Correspondent January 11, 2020
Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: Fires broke out in three different areas of Karachi on Friday. While no casualties were reported, there was considerable loss of property and goods.

A building containing two workshops caught fire near Firdous Shopping Centre in Liaquatabad No 4. Two fire tenders arrived at the spot to put out the blaze, while the police and Rangers were also informed about the incident.

According to fire department spokespersons, firefighters managed to douse the flames in an hour.  The explained that the three-storey building housed a workshop where electrical boards are made on the ground floor and a handbag manufacturing workshop on the first floor, while the owner of the handbag workshop resided on the top floor with his wife.

The flames reportedly burned both the workshops and their contents, as well as the belongings of the residents on the top floor. Firefighters also had to demolish the outer wall of the building, which had started to crumble due to the intensity of the fire.

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Meanwhile, a bakery erupted in flames near Sabzi Gali at Burns Road. A fire tender arrived at the site and was able to extinguish the fire within half an hour.

Spokespersons from the fire department said that the blaze had erupted in the storeroom of the bakery, which is situated on the ground floor of a three-storey residential building. The residents had evacuated the building themselves when they noticed the fire in order to avoid any casualties, since gas cylinders were also kept in the storeroom.

Angry residents said that the bakery caught fire or was set on fire nearly every year. They claimed that the affected building and all other buildings on Burns Road were residential buildings and had become commercial buildings due to the negligence of the government and city administration.

Separately, fire engulfed a towel factory in New Karachi Industrial Area early on Friday morning. Five fire tenders rushed to the spot, while the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) managing director enforced emergency at the NIPA hydrant and sent water tankers in order to supply water for the fire fighting efforts. The blaze was doused after an hour's struggle.

While no casualties were reported, cloth and other goods inside the factory were burned to ashes.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2020.

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