House fire leaves man dead, three injured

Gas leak, cylinder explosions take heavy toll in winter

LAHORE:

A fire caused by gas leakage in a house in Sabzazar left a 27-year-old man dead and three other people injured.

The victims reportedly were asleep in the three-storey house including basement.

At least 15 people were present in the house when the fire suddenly broke out on the ground floor following a loud explosion at about 6:00am.

The blaze rapidly spread to the upper floor.

The neighbours rushed to help of the victims and also called rescue teams. Firefighters and rescue workers extinguished the blaze.

They also rescued the residents and shifted the victims to a nearby hospital, but one of them, Mobeen Shabbir, died.

Sumera, aged 18, Nazish, 44, and Shahbaz, 28, were injured in the incident.

Read Cylinder blast claims four kids’ lives

Initial investigations indicated that the fire had been caused by gas leakage. However, officials said detailed investigations were being carried out.

This was only one in a series of deadly fire incidents in the city apparently caused by attempts of citizens to protect themselves from the severe cold weather by using room heaters.

The ongoing winter season in Lahore has witnessed an unprecedentedly prolonged cold wave without rain or sunny days because of persisting dense fog.

According to a meteorologist, it has been unprecedented for Lahore to remain continuously blanketed by fog for over a month.

Several accidents have been cause because of residents using different means to keep themselves warm, including coals and gas heaters, without adopting the required safety precautions.

During the ongoing month, four minor siblings had died and a man and two other children injured in two incidents of fire on January 5.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2024.