A fire that broke out at a factory in Landhi on Sunday could not be fully controlled even after more than 30 hours of firefighting efforts, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesperson.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb told media.com that the “fire has been brought under control to a large extent”, however, more time is required to completely control the blaze.
“There are flames burning in the affected factories. It may take more time to fully control the fire and complete the cooling process,” he said.
The spokesperson said rescue teams are still present on the third day of Eid and continuously engaged in extinguishing the fire.
The fire, which erupted in a factory in the export processing zone in Landhi, caused part of a factory building to collapse, leaving five people injured.
“The injured include 45-year-old Aslam, 30-year-old Hamza, 20-year-old Ayaz, 43-year-old Sajid Mahmood and 53-year-old Mohsin,” Khan said. “They have been transported to Civil Hospital.”
Earlier, Haseeb told media.com that the fire broke out at 4:31am, meaning that it has been burning for over 24 hours.
Speaking to media.com earlier, Abid Jalaluddin Sheikh, chief operating officer at Rescue 1122 Sindh, said that the fire broke out early on Sunday morning, spreading rapidly and engulfing two other factories due to the presence of combustible material.
He said, “As soon as the information was received, the Fire and Rescue team of Rescue 1122 reached the spot.”
According to Sheikh, a total of 12 fire brigade trucks,two snorkels and two ambulances of Rescue 1122 and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) are present at the spot to provide full assistance to deal with any emergency situation.
“The rescue operation is facing difficulties due to the intensity of smoke and other difficulties, as well as the shortage of water, but Rescue 1122 is making efforts to control the fire,” he said.
Sheikh highlighted that firefighting operations were “in full swing and full efforts are being made to reduce the intensity of the fire because the intensity of the fire is very high”.
“The Rescue 1122 team is making full efforts to control this emergency situation by utilising all possible resources,” he said, adding that citizens have been requested to immediately report any emergency to 1122.
Fire incidents are common in the metropolis due to the absence of adequate fire safety measures in buildings.
Thirty shops were gutted when a huge fire erupted in a commercial building in Clifton in February.
Four people, including one firefighter, were affected by smoke inhalation and 12 fire tenders worked for four hours to bring the fire under control.
Last year, the KMC informed the Sindh High Court that it had conducted a fire safety audit of over 265 commercial buildings, and not a single one was found to have a fire safety certificate or a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the fire brigade department.
Out of 265 buildings, around 155 did not have fire alarms and smoke detectors installed, while the status of nine such buildings was not available in this respect, the KMC report added.
Similarly, the condition of the wiring and electric system of over 155 buildings was termed unsatisfactory. Regarding access to firefighting equipment, the report said that around 200 buildings had no or unsatisfactory firefighting equipment.
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