KARACHI: A fire which broke out at a wood warehouse situated in the city’s main Saddar area on Monday has been successfully doused.
The warehouse was used to stock wooden crates.
The fire department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had declared the inferno a third-degree intensity fire and called in fire tenders from all over the city. About 15 fire tenders and three water browsers were used to extinguish the fire.
According to Chief Fire Officer Tehseen Ahmed, firework material had been stocked at the spot where the fire broke out. These fireworks had fed the blaze and several explosions could also be heard after the flames erupted, he said.
Flames had also engulfed a pile of garbage present beside the warehouse which had further intensified the blaze, eyewitnesses said.
Part of a madrassah building nearby was completely damaged in the fire.
No casualties were reported. However, heavy material losses were feared.
Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar has also visited the warehouse, which was earlier engulfed by flames with thick black smoke seen rising from it.
Waseem Akhtar, who arrived at the warehouse to review the extinguishing efforts, expressed concern over the state of fire extinguishing services in the city. He said the city was not equipped to respond to two concurrent fire emergency situations.
“If fire breaks out at two different places in the city then only one spot can be extinguished at any given time,” he said, adding that he has sent a proposal to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in this regard.
