Building fire at Karachi’s II Chundrigar Road doused after 12 hours

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GEO NEWS
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KARACHI: A third-degree fire which had reignited in a building on II Chundrigar Road has been doused after almost 12 hours, according to the fire department.

The fire, which erupted due to short-circuiting on the buildings’ 17th floor, was put out with the help of 16 fire tenders, a fire snorkel, and two water bowsers.

Early Saturday morning, the fire department was informed that a fire has erupted in an office in the building. When the firefighters reached the site, they realised they did not have sufficient supplies to douse the fire on the 17th floor, as a result blaze spread to 18th and 19th floors as well.

Read more: Fire doused at shoe shop, warehouse in Lahore

According to the chief fire officer, the 17th and 18th floors of Tower B in the Saima Trade Towers were cleared first in an effort to extinguish the blaze. 

The fire was contained at first after three hours of effort using five fire tenders, a fire snorkel and a water bowser but it reignited after an hour.

"The building had no system of dousing the fire," the Chief Fire Officer Tehseen Ahmed said. 

 

Rescue teams reached the site promptly after they were alerted
Rescue teams reached the site promptly after they were alerted

A man who was trapped inside the building was rescued, the fire department told Geo News. The man did not sustain any serious injuries. 

No casualties were reported, however, three persons who were trapped on the affected floors were safely evacuated from the building two hours after rescue teams reached the site.

Fire department needs more facilities: Karachi Mayor 

Fire department does have sufficient facilities to douse fire in multi-storey buildings, said Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar during a visit to the site. He pointed out that the firefighters don’t even have helmets, adding fire department needs 10 times more facilities.

He also claimed that many buildings are being constructed in the city however, those buildings don’t have fire exits or other safety measures.  

“Sindh government has destroyed the institutions in the last eight years,” said Akhtar. People are facing difficulties and Sindh government should be ashamed of this state, he remarked.