Fate turned against Al-Fateh once again, as fire erupted and engulfed the four-storey departmental store near Liberty roundabout on Monday.
The fire, which broke out at 5:30 am on the first floor due to short-circuit, spread to the second, third and fourth floors of the building in a short time.
After a struggle of over 15 hours, the fire fighters were able to extinguish the fire, smoke of which had engulfed the Gulberg area.
Atleast eight people, including rescue personnel, have been reported to be injured, however, no casualties were reported.
District Coordination Officer Lahore Captain Usman Anwar said that at least 150 people had been evacuated from the residential flats by the rescue teams.
Talking about the rescue operation to Pakistan Today, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Jam Sajjad Hussain said that 18 fire fighting vehicles participated in the operation. He said that the presence of oil within the department store led to the spread of fire and made it difficult to extinguish.
“The store was locked when the fire broke out making it even more difficult for the rescue personnel to conduct the rescue operation,” he added.
“The most difficult part was to extinguish the fire that erupted on the fourth floor as smoke on the second floor made the upper floors inaccessible,” Jam told this scribe.
“The rescue efforts were also hindered because of the fact that the store only had one gate for both entry and exit,” he added.
Khurram Shahzad, an eye-witness, talking to Pakistan Today said that he had not witnessed such a blaze in his life.
“The fire had engulfed the entire building and there was fear that the building might collapse,” he said.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the owner of the building Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said he cannot tell the exact worth of the goods that have been lost because of the fire.
“All I can say is we have suffered a huge loss,” said Sheikh.
Fire fighter Bashir told Pakistan Today that the Rescue 1122 is using the chemicals to overcome the fire, but the presence of oil within the departmental store made it difficult to extinguish the blaze.
Another rescuer added that the thick smoke made it difficult to breath.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and directed the officials concerned to speed up the rescue work.
