Efforts continue to control Lahore plaza fire

LAHORE: More than ten hours after a fire broke out at a departmental store building in Lahore early Monday morning, firefighters were still busy trying to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters said flames had enveloped four out of six levels of the building in the uptown Liberty Market area.

Four vehicles of the Pakistan Air Force’s fire unit also reached the location earlier to aid in dousing the flames, which had caused cracks in the six-floor building.

The blaze soon caused the adjacent building to also catch fire, which firefighters were now also trying to extinguish.

DCO Lahore Captain Usman said all rescue agencies were cooperating in efforts to control the fire. He could not say if people were still trapped inside the building but did confirm that ‘Rescue 1122’ had evacuated 114 people from the building.

While the DCO said it was too early to ascertain what caused the fire, earlier the owner had claimed it was caused by an electrical short-circuit.