Warehouse, scrap shop gutted in Saddar fires 

Mayor expresses concern over fire department’s lack of resources

A day after a massive fire ravaged a factory in Korangi Industrial Area, a warehouse and a scrap shop were gutted in two fires that broke out in Saddar on Monday.

As per an official of the fire brigade, the Saddar fire station received information of a fire burning in an open plot - near Rainbow Centre - used for carrying out woodworks, at around 1:18pm.

Initially two fire tenders were dispatched but the blaze soon spread engulfing a nearby godown – used for storing firecrackers - and a seminary.

The firecrackers intensified the blaze, resulting in it spreading to the seminary adjacent to the warehouse, said chief fire officer Tehseen Ahmed.

An emergency was imposed in water hydrants being run by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB).

The fire-fighters managed to put the fire out in over three hours. Around 10 fire tenders and two water bowsers were used in the rescue operation.

He maintained that the reason of the fire would only be ascertained after the completion of an inquiry. Ahmed added that the sites were being cooled down, whereas two fire tenders were still stationed there in case of an emergency.

The CFO further said that the fireworks’ warehouse was reduced to ashes in the incident.

Speaking to The News, Jamshaid Quarters SP Dr Rizwan Ahmed said the situation worsened when fireworks stored in the warehouse caught fire.  The SP added that the fire broke out within the limits of the Saddar police station, but advanced towards the Brigade police station owing to direction of the winds.  

A scrap shop within the ambit of the Preedy police station was gutted after garbage in an adjacent dump was set on fire. SHO Aurangzaib Khattak said the fire started from a garbage dump and engulfed the scrap shop.

He added that fire tenders reached the site on time and doused down the fire immediately.

On April 1, a garments factory in the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) was gutted in a fire. The blaze started at around 1am. After residents approached the Landhi Fire Station, three fire tenders were initially dispatched to the scene at 3:48am. 

According to the central control room of the fire station, after the department realised the gravity of the situation, it dispatched 13 fire tenders, two bowsers and a snorkel by declaring it a Category III fire.

 

Mayor visit

City Mayor Waseem Akhtar who reached the first site to monitor the operation expressed concern over the existing capacity of the fire department.

Expressing his apprehension over the lack of resources, the mayor said that had a fire broken out at another place at the same time the firemen would have been incapable of handling the situation.

Akhtar claimed that he had written a letter to the Sindh chief minister requesting him to have the capacity of the city’s fire brigade upgraded.