12 Edhi ambulances destroyed in fire

KARACHI:

Over a dozen ambulances were destroyed in a fire that erupted at the compound of Edhi Centre in Old Sabzi Mandi on Wednesday. No loss of life, however, was reported in the fire.

The fire broke out at 12:30pm and it burnt the ambulances parked around the compound. Edhi Centre officials claimed that delay in response by the fire brigade department caused the massive damage.

“There would have been no major loss had the fire brigade arrived on time,” said a spokesperson for Edhi, Anwar Kazmi, while talking to The Express Tribune. He said that 12 ambulances were completely destroyed while the remaining four were partially damaged.



“This is our inter-city transportation service centre,” the spokesperson explained, adding that these ambulances were functional and were used for inter-city transportation.

Reacting on the information, firefighters reached the site and extinguished the fire. Several of law enforcers also reached the site and dispersed the people.  Fire brigade officials refuted, however, the claims by Edhi officials by saying that they were informed late about the incident. “All the destroyed vehicles were non-functional,” claimed an official of the fire brigade department while talking to The Express Tribune. The spokesperson said that a total of 12 vehicles were destroyed while the remaining 18 were saved by the firefighters.

The actual reason behind the fire could not be ascertained. Though the Edhi spokesperson said that a potential criminal act could not be ruled out, the officials of the fire brigade and police believed the fire broke out accidently. “Several oil drums and bottles were at the compound. May be someone threw a lit cigarette which destroyed the vehicles,” suspected DSP Nasir Lodhi while talking to The Express Tribune. No case has been registered. The official said that a case would be registered if the police found any clues of a criminal act.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2014.