History repeats itself: Fire destroys 250 shops, 50 warehouses in timber market

First the fire department had no diesel, then it was water, then it was pipes, says the market association.

KARACHI:

As firefighters desperately ran from one to the other to make arrangements for water, diesel and extendable pipes, residents and shopkeepers of Old Haji Camp helplessly looked on as their homes and sources of income perished in the fire.

The fire, which broke out at around 12:30am, took around 12 hours to douse, for which the fire department took credit. On the ground, however, the picture was even more depressing as the fire had gutted everything in its wake and naturally gone out when there was nothing more to destroy. Thus, history repeated itself in Karachi.

The country's largest timber market - home to hundreds of shops and warehouses where timber is stored for the furniture manufacturing industry - is located in one of the city's most densely-populated areas, the Old Haji Camp. The market was set up in 1938 and boasts around 800 shops as well as 200 warehouses. Though the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, it broke out at one of the shops at around 12:30am. Within a few hours, it had spread to hundreds of neighbouring residential and commercial establishments.



The fire brigade department was immediately informed about the incident, but their vehicles and personnel were unable to reach the site due to the narrow lanes and close proximity of the buildings. Residents rushed out of their homes following an emergency announcement from the mosque. They helped the emergency workers rescue dozens of people who had been trapped in the buildings that had already caught fire.

Initially, six fire tenders were dispatched to the site but as the fire was declared 'third-degree', fire tenders from across the city were called in. The firefighters claimed to have brought the blaze under control in around 12 hours.

"Around 45 vehicles, including those from the Karachi Port Trust, Defence Housing Authority and the Pakistan Navy participated in the operation," the Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui told The Express Tribune. "Blaming me or my department is easy but the ground reality is that dousing a fire of this magnitude is very difficult."

Siddiqui defended his department by saying that the personnel did their best to save hundreds of lives and properties by working through the night and the next day. "Controlling the fire in such circumstances where a huge cache of wood, steel and chemicals are stored always takes time," CFO explained. "An inquiry is being conducted to ascertain the actual cause of the fire and to ascertain the losses and damages."

For their part, the market association had warned to shut down commercial activities in the city until the government compensates the shopkeepers. "There is nothing left. Everything has been turned into ashes. We are going to hold a press conference today (Monday) along with all the traders and associations of Karachi where we will announce to close all business activities in Karachi until the government compensates us," said the Timber Market Association's president Suleman Soomro, while speaking to The Express Tribune. He claimed that around 250 shops and 50 warehouses had been completely destroyed because of the negligence of the fire department. "When we called them (fire department) to inform them about the fire, they said they did not have diesel," he revealed. "They made excuses about not having enough water when we arranged the diesel for them. When we provided the water too, they said they did not have connecting pipes to reach the water into the narrow streets," claimed Soomro. "The hour-long delay by the fire department caused the fire to spread throughout the market and the surrounding buildings."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2014.