Causes unknown: Separate fires claim two lives

A fire at a factory claims life of one employee and injures seven.

KARACHI:

A child burnt to death and an elderly man was injured when huts in the slum area of Zumrad Colony, situated at Block-22 of the Federal B Area, caught fire on Tuesday. 

According to the fire brigade department, they received information around 4:30 am, following which two fire tenders were initially dispatched to the spot. Later, two more fire tenders were sent to extinguish the fire.

According to the chief fire officer (CFO), Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui, almost 100 huts were completely destroyed in the blaze before the fire brigade reached the spot. The fire, which was put out within two hours, claimed the life of a two-year-old boy Hassan, and injured a 60-year-old man, Jumma. There were reports that the fire was caused by a cigarette but the CFO said that the reason has yet to be ascertained.

In a separate incident, a fire broke out at the Universal Silk Corporation located in sector 12-B of the New Karachi Industrial Area. One factory employee, 23-year-old Mohammad Imran, burnt to death while seven others were injured in the fire. Fireman, Zubair Ansari, also fell unconscious while dousing the fire. The fire department said that it was a third degree fire that destroyed the whole factory.

The CFO said that the firemen faced immense difficulties in extinguishing the fire due to the absence of an emergency water tank in the area. The cause for the fire, which was controlled after five hours, has yet to be ascertained.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2012.