Man burns to death in factory fire

Foam factory catches fire in Korangi during Friday prayers

KARACHI: A man burned to death as a blaze engulfed a foam manufacturing factory near Chamra Chowrangi in Korangi Industrial Area on Friday. Meanwhile, foam and other goods were burned to ash in the incident.

Factory workers said that the flames erupted at the time of Friday prayers, adding that most of the workers had gone to offer prayers and found the factory on fire when they returned.

Police, Rangers and rescue teams arrived on the spot and informed the fire department about the inferno. Two fire tenders and a bowser reached the building, initiating efforts to douse the fire.

Fire-fighting staff were forced to tear down the factory walls on two sides in order to contain the fire. Given the extent of the flames, they sought assistance from the Port Qasim authorities, Karachi Port Trust and other agencies, which also sent fire tenders to help manage the blaze. The fire was put out after two and a half hours, with four fire tenders and a bowser.

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Meanwhile, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) managing director enforced emergency at the Landhi and NIPA hydrants in order to provide water to the fire department. Several water tankers were sent to assist the efforts, according to the fire department’s requirements. The KWSB MD added that water would be provided for the effort until the flames were fully put out.

A man, said to be around 30 years old, was also burned to death in the fire. The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

Police officials said that chemicals were kept in a tent behind the factory, adding that the disaster could have been much worse if the fire had spread to it.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Raja Azhar also arrived at the factory and participated in rescue work along with his companions. Talking to the media outside the building, he said that two fire tenders were not enough to contain a fire of such magnitude. He added that they had requested the relevant officials to send more vehicles to the site.

“The fire department is at the brink of destruction, but the authorities are still oblivious to it,” he said, adding that they had demanded that the authorities take notice of the fire department’s condition and resolve matters so it could function properly.

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Azhar said that there were no safety arrangements at the factory and the workers had been trying to extinguish the flames on their own. “The government should look into how licenses are issued to factories where safety arrangements are absent,” he added.

Raja Azhar said that there were no safety arrangements in the factory and workers were trying to extinguish the fire on their own. He said that the government should watch how the licences are issued to factories where safety arrangements are absent.

He disclosed that the fire department officials had also asked for diesel in case they ran out of it during the fire-fighting efforts. As a result, 45 litres of diesel was kept available and the vehicles were refuelled when they ran out.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2020.