Karachi mayor’s office affected as fire breaks out at KMC building

Fire brigade officials say KMC fire brigade reached the building, brought the fire under control

KARACHI:

The office of the Karachi Mayor, Murtaza Wahab, was affected after a fire broke out in the kitchen on the first floor adjacent to the mayor's office at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) head office on MA Jinnah Road on Tuesday, the KMC spokesperson said.

The KMC fire brigade reached the building after receiving information about the incident and brought the fire under control, fire brigade officials said.

Fire brigade officials said the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, while no loss of life was reported. Two fire tenders were dispatched to control the blaze, they added.

Read: EPZ factory of used clothing gutted in fire

The incident comes a day after a fire that broke out at a factory in the Landhi Export Processing Zone (EPZ) intensified and spread to another nearby factory. All employees of the factory were safely evacuated.

The factory contained a large stock of second-hand clothing. Two fire tenders initially reached the scene. However, due to the intensity of the blaze, additional fire tenders and a snorkel were called in. Fire brigade personnel continued efforts to control the fire with 18 fire tenders and two snorkels.

During the rescue operation, part of the factory collapsed, while rescue officials declared the entire building unsafe.

Despite several hours of firefighting, the blaze could not be completely brought under control. Fire brigade officials said they had managed to prevent the fire from spreading further and had brought around 50 per cent of the fire under control.