Fire destroys hardboard factory in North Karachi

KARACHI: A fire that erupted at a hardboard factory early on Monday morning was doused in the afternoon after a 12-hour struggle involving 15 fire tenders. 

A KMC fire brigade officer said the fire broke out midnight in the factory located near Shafiq Morr, North Karachi. He described the blaze as extremely intense that "engulfed the entire property in no time".

Mentioning that no human loss was caused, he said the cooling process at the site was expected to be completed by the evening. Short circuit was identified as the possible cause of the fire, said the factory owners, deploring that a severe loss had been caused because of the delayed arrival of fire tenders. 

Talking to media at the site, the Karachi DMC chairman expressed his sympathy with owners of the gutted factory. He said lack of facilities were hindering timely and smooth handling of emergency situations in the metropolis.

A day ago, three floors were gutted as a 14-storey building located on Boat Basin, Clifton, caught fire on early Sunday morning. No casualties were reported in the incident. The blaze engulfed two popular eateries located on the building’s ground floor.