Karachi’s concrete tinderboxes expose a fire safety system that fails when it matters

Around 80 people remain missing and at least 26 have been confirmed dead after a devastating fire tore through Gul Plaza Mall, gutting the building and trapping dozens inside. The blaze raged for more than 36 hours before it was brought under control, as thick smoke, repeated water shortages and limited equipment slowed rescue efforts.

Shop owners estimate losses running into billions of rupees, wiping out years of investment in a few hours. Many traders described scenes of chaos and desperation, accusing rescue officials and the Sindh government of a delayed and inadequate response. Eyewitnesses and affected shopkeepers said fire tenders arrived late, firefighters lacked proper machinery and rescuers did not have protective masks, preventing them from entering the building during critical early hours. Several alleged that water ran out repeatedly, forcing operations to stop and allowing the fire to intensify into a third-degree blaze.

The Gul Plaza tragedy has once again laid bare Karachi’s chronic fire safety failures – problems that go far beyond a single building and point to a deeper institutional breakdown across the city’s commercial and industrial zones.

“There is no proper system in place,” a former Director General of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) told The Express Tribune, commenting on recurring fires in the industrial area. He said the zone lacks both effective internal safety mechanisms and meaningful external oversight, creating conditions where disasters are almost inevitable.

Even a cursory online search of the EPZ paints a disturbing picture, with headlines dominated by fires rather than industrial output or export growth. Former Director General of EPZ AD Khawaja, who is also the former IGP Sindh, said the causes are neither isolated nor accidental but rooted in systemic failures, from daily factory operations to the absence of basic fire safety infrastructure. “This is not about one mistake or one factory,” he said. “It’s about a system that fails at every level.”

The Landhi EPZ was created as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s export strategy, offering duty-free imports, tax exemptions and streamlined rules to attract investment in sectors such as IT, garments and engineering. Investors were promised modern infrastructure and regulatory support, but those assurances have increasingly been undermined by weak enforcement of safety standards.

Read more: Gul Plaza fire under control after 36 hours; 14 dead as Karachi shopping centre gutted

Khawaja pointed to a lack of continuity in leadership as a major factor. “There is no continuity in management,” he said, noting that most EPZ chairpersons operate from Islamabad, far removed from ground realities. “That disconnect is part of the problem.”

Chief Fire Officer Humayun Khan said EPZ management’s failure to comply with a Memorandum of Understanding and established safety protocols is a critical issue.

The results are visible. Three major fires have broken out in the EPZ in the past year alone. Preventive measures remain weak, while access for fire squads is often blocked. Khan highlighted the danger of basement fires: without standard operating procedures or proper entry points, firefighters cannot reach the source, allowing flames to spread unchecked.

Karachi’s wider fire response system is equally fragile. A recurring detail in fire reports is the arrival of two snorkels at major incidents. That is because the city of more than 35 million people owns only two snorkels in total. Moving them across long distances costs precious time, allowing fires to escalate before meaningful action begins.

Official data reflects the scale of the crisis. In 2025, Karachi recorded more than 2,400 fire incidents, causing property losses worth millions of rupees. Fire officials say many lives and livelihoods could have been saved with a functional, well-equipped system.

Read more: Fire breaks out at garment factory in Karachi Export Processing Zone

Khawaja said the EPZ does not have a dedicated fire squad of its own. Internal safety systems often fail to activate early, while delays in outside response allow fires to spread, creating a dangerous cycle of institutional inefficiency.

The physical layout of the zone adds to the risk. Factories are packed closely together, many rising five storeys high on plots as small as 6,000 square yards. “Once a fire starts, containment becomes extremely difficult,” Khawaja said.

Former Chief Fire Officer Mubeen Ahmed said conditions were not always this bad. “Thirty years ago, the system was far better and such incidents were rare,” he told The Express Tribune. “Over time, management expanded the zone, stacked factories on top of each other and abandoned inspections. That’s when the risks multiplied.”

Another former fire chief, Zafar Mairaj, said the EPZ, despite falling under the federal government, collects taxes from factories and is responsible for providing fire safety. While the zone has its own fire station, he said it is short-staffed, lacks fire tenders and cannot respond effectively, forcing the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to step in. He questioned why the EPZ continues to “fail to fulfil these responsibilities despite having taken them on.”

Most fires in the zone erupt in textile and garment factories, where highly flammable materials allow flames to spread within minutes. The frequency of such incidents means they barely register beyond headlines, yet together they reveal a deeper institutional failure.

That Karachi’s largest industrial hub – a key driver of the city’s economy and national exports – lacks basic fire safety underlines a grim reality: the city that runs the country does not have the systems to protect itself.

With just 28 fire stations serving more than 35 million people, officials warn that without a major overhaul of fire safety infrastructure, stricter enforcement of building rules and accountable local management, tragedies like Gul Plaza will continue – at an ever-rising human and economic cost.