Fire in State Life Building: man dies after jumping off eighth floor

A fire broke out at a State Life Building in the Saddar area in the limits of Artillery Maidan police station here on Wednesday. A young man, Owais Baig, lost his life after he panicked and jumped off from an eighth floor window. The man was in the building for a job interview.
Fire fighters said that they had received information about the fire and had immediately sent six fire tenders. They said that two more fire tenders and two snorkels were called in after the blaze engulfed the entire eighth floor of the building. They said that the fire had spread out of control before the arrival of fire fighters.
According to the fire department, the fire was brought under control after three hours. They said that Owais had jumped off after he lost control over his nerves. He did not survive the fall, they said. Fire fighters said that the fire might have been caused by an electrical short circuit.
Police said the deceased, who lived in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, was in the building for an interview for the post of an executive engineer. A KESC statement stated that independent investigations were under way to determine the cause of the fire. It said that the State Life Building (opposite Zainab Market) contained offices of various companies, including KESC.
As many as 900 KESC employees work in the building and at the time of the fire, the evacuation drill was executed based on KESC's work and employee safety procedure. "KESC encourages a safety-oriented culture" based on which safety equipment and fire wardens were present on each floor "because of which a major catastrophe was averted". The KESC statement was in agreement with the statement given by the Chief Fire Officer Ehteshamuddin in which he said that a major incident was averted because everyone co-operated and the building had adequate fire fighting equipment and system, because of which the fire was contained. "KESC deeply regrets the sad demise of the gentleman (visitor) who had been caught in the smoke and fire before rescue teams could reach him."