Loss worth millions as portion of TIP building gutted

HARIPUR: A portion of the Telephone Industries of Pakistan (TIP)’s building was gutted when the fire broke out due to yet to be known reasons, police and official sources said here Saturday evening.

There was no loss of life reported during the fire as there was weekly off in the factory. The fire extinguishers, however, managed to control the fire after a four hours struggle, police and official sources at the TIP told newsmen.

Police said the fire erupted in the hybrid workshop of the Telephone Industries of Pakistan situated on the second floor at around 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon and engulfed the entire floor. The inferno was so heavy that the flames were visible from a distance and left raw and finished parts made of plastic and chemical, machinery, and office belongings completely burnt, police and official sources said.

When approached, the SP Investigation Asif Gohar Khan said that 95% of the inferno had been brought under control after an effort of four hours by the fire fighters from Rescue 1122, TMA Haripur, Khanpur, Hattar Industrial Estate and NRTC, but the exact volume of loss could not be determined as entering the affected portion was life risking.

To a question, the police officer said that the circumstantial evidence showed that it was short circuiting that caused the inferno and it caused a loss of millions, but for further investigation, the causes of fire would be determined with exact loss within a day or two.

It may be added that TIP, once the State Owned Enterprise, was the subsidiary of the Ministry of Information Technology before transferring its property rights to the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), Haripur during November 2021. The TIP was now under direct management control of NRTC, with a 500 plus workforce.