Three children burnt alive in house fire

CM directs authorities to submit report on fire incident

LAHORE:

At least four people, a grandmother and three children, were burnt alive an incident of fire in a house in Wahdat Colony on Thursday. Police said a fire broke out in a house in Shahid Colony, Abpara Stop.

The fire reportedly broke out due to a gas heater. A grandmother, two minor girls and their brother was trapped inside a room. The trapped victims rushed to washroom of in the house. Upon failure to control the fire, the nearby people called rescue teams. The firefighters reached the spot on information. They evacuated the victims in a critical condition.

However, all the four victims breathed their last on way to hospital. The victims were identified as Rukhsana Yousaf, 52, Abera Najam 8, Hadi Najam, 5 and Hannan Najam, 1. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar expressed grief over the fire incident in Wahdat Colony. The CM said he is equally grieving the passing of four lives in the deadly fire and directed the authorities to submit a report on how the fire broke out. Fire incidents are rampant in the provincial capital due to poor safety arrangement inside buildings.

Rescue services had scrambled to get under control a massive fire that broke out in an electronic market in Lahore in October, 2020. According to eyewitness account, the fire initially broke out on the second floor of the Hafeez Centre and eventually spread to the fourth floor. The intense blaze not only prompted a response from the rescue services, but also compelled several officials from the local administration to arrive at the site. Rescuers said 25 people had been rescued from the building and there were no reports of casualties.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid also reached the market on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Bazdar. After reviewing the relief operations at Hafeez Center, Rashid sought a report from the concerned authorities. Authorities revealed that the initial survey indicates the fire broke out due to a short circuit. However, a definite reason could only be given after the report was submitted.