Short-circuiting: In Lower Dir, over 30 shops gutted in fire

SHO rules out arson, says rescue work delayed due to gas cylinder explosion.

TIMERGARA:

At least 30 shops were gutted in a fire at a bus stand in Timergara, Lower Dir district, on Tuesday.

Timegara Police Station House Officer (SHO) Habibullah Khan told The Express Tribune that the fire broke out at 3:40am in a hotel due to short-circuiting and spread out, engulfing neighbouring shops. He said that 30 shops were destroyed, while four were partly damaged by the fire.

Khan said the fire brigade reached the scene on time but before it could begin extinguishing the fire, a gas cylinder inside one of the shops exploded, which delayed rescue work. The fire was eventually put out after two hours of efforts.

Khan said that the shops were set up in a congested area and sold vehicle spare parts.

He ruled out that the incident was an act of terrorism or arson.

He said that preliminary investigations show that the fire was caused by short-circuiting.

He added that there was no human loss in the incident.

“We have initiated a probe into the incident and hope to know more soon,” the SHO added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2012.