Aspiring engineer dies after falling off eighth floor
Fire department says the fire started due to a short-circuit on the first floor.
KARACHI:
A 24-year-old man died after he fell off the State Life Building opposite Zainab Market in Saddar that caught fire on Wednesday morning.
The deceased, Ovais Baig, came for an interview for the post of executive engineer at the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC). He used to work at a factory in Landhi but was unemployed for the past two months.
At around 11 am, the fire broke out on the first floor of the 13-storey building. The building has proper equipments in case of emergencies so the people tried to extinguish it themselves at first, said chief fire officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui. At around 11:20 am, they called the fire department that dispatched two fire trucks, but the young man had jumped off by then.
There were around 2,000 people inside the building and all of them managed to evacuate safely. Unfortunately, Baig was caught in the fire and the fumes.
In an effort to save his life, he climbed out of the window on the eighth floor but it was unclear whether he jumped off himself or lost his grip on the window pane. The chief fire officer said it would be premature to comment on this.
“The Baldia factory fire has created a sense of fear among us and that is probably the reason why he panicked and climbed out of the window,” said Siddiqui.
“We cannot say what exactly caused the fire, but it appears that there was short-circuit among the air-conditioner wires in the ventilation duct,” he said. The fire caused damage to the first floor only but the smoke reached all the way to the top, he added.
Several people gathered at the roof of the building and were rescued when the fire trucks came. The survivors said that they tried looking for the exits when the fire started, but there was so much smoke that they could not see properly. Manzar Aziz, who works in the building, said that thousands of lives were saved because there were proper emergency exits and firefighting equipment. “It is unfortunate that the young man panicked,” he added.
According to a KESC spokesperson, around 900 employees of the utility remained safe. Sadly, the deceased was not aware of the fire safety system, he said.
Baig was the second eldest among five siblings. His father used to work at a factory but he had left the job a few months ago. His friend, Imtiaz, told The Express Tribune that he talked to Baig right before the incident. He told him that he was waiting for his turn and asked him to pray that he gets the job.
He was rushed to Jinnah hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The doctors said that he had several broken bones and he died shortly after he came in.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah also paid a visit to the building. He directed the commissioner and health secretary to make sure fire safety equipment and emergency exits are available in all buildings.
State Life chairman offered his condolences to the family of the deceased.
According to a press release, the fire started inside the duct of an electrical distribution panel. All the employees were safely evacuated and the emergency exit controls system was also fully operational, it said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2012.
A 24-year-old man died after he fell off the State Life Building opposite Zainab Market in Saddar that caught fire on Wednesday morning.
The deceased, Ovais Baig, came for an interview for the post of executive engineer at the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC). He used to work at a factory in Landhi but was unemployed for the past two months.
At around 11 am, the fire broke out on the first floor of the 13-storey building. The building has proper equipments in case of emergencies so the people tried to extinguish it themselves at first, said chief fire officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui. At around 11:20 am, they called the fire department that dispatched two fire trucks, but the young man had jumped off by then.
There were around 2,000 people inside the building and all of them managed to evacuate safely. Unfortunately, Baig was caught in the fire and the fumes.
In an effort to save his life, he climbed out of the window on the eighth floor but it was unclear whether he jumped off himself or lost his grip on the window pane. The chief fire officer said it would be premature to comment on this.
“The Baldia factory fire has created a sense of fear among us and that is probably the reason why he panicked and climbed out of the window,” said Siddiqui.
“We cannot say what exactly caused the fire, but it appears that there was short-circuit among the air-conditioner wires in the ventilation duct,” he said. The fire caused damage to the first floor only but the smoke reached all the way to the top, he added.
Several people gathered at the roof of the building and were rescued when the fire trucks came. The survivors said that they tried looking for the exits when the fire started, but there was so much smoke that they could not see properly. Manzar Aziz, who works in the building, said that thousands of lives were saved because there were proper emergency exits and firefighting equipment. “It is unfortunate that the young man panicked,” he added.
According to a KESC spokesperson, around 900 employees of the utility remained safe. Sadly, the deceased was not aware of the fire safety system, he said.
Baig was the second eldest among five siblings. His father used to work at a factory but he had left the job a few months ago. His friend, Imtiaz, told The Express Tribune that he talked to Baig right before the incident. He told him that he was waiting for his turn and asked him to pray that he gets the job.
He was rushed to Jinnah hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The doctors said that he had several broken bones and he died shortly after he came in.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah also paid a visit to the building. He directed the commissioner and health secretary to make sure fire safety equipment and emergency exits are available in all buildings.
State Life chairman offered his condolences to the family of the deceased.
According to a press release, the fire started inside the duct of an electrical distribution panel. All the employees were safely evacuated and the emergency exit controls system was also fully operational, it said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2012.