On fire: Three floors of bank head office completely burnt down

According to the police, no loss of life was reported.

KARACHI:

Three floors of a multi-storey building on Mumtaz Hassan Road were burnt to ashes when a fire erupted on its 12th floor on Saturday.

The Mithadar police reported that fire broke out in the Summit Bank head office located on Mumtaz Hassan Road adjacent to II Chundrigar Road at around 5:10am. At least six firefighting vehicles including a snorkel engaged in dousing the fire. However, the fire enveloped the 13th and 14th floors as well. More fire brigades were summoned as the flames billowed out of the bank’s windows.

According to a fire department spokesperson, six fire tenders and a snorkel were dispatched to the fire site initially. However, more had to be sent after it was declared a third-degree fire, he added. A total 25 fire tenders, four bowsers and two snorkels helped extinguish the fire. It took them around eight hours of hectic effort to douse the blazes.

An extra contingent of the police also reached the site and participated in the rescue operation. The police officials said that no loss of human life was reported as no one was present in the building. They said that the three top floors of the building were totally devastated, adding that the actual cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained. It is believed that the fire apparently erupted due to a short circuit.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2014.