Fire Brigade has completely extinguished a fire in a godown of Moutan Daas Market following a struggle lasting several hours on Wednesday and averted a major disaster in the city, Fire Brigade sources said.
Chief Fire Officer Saleem Ehtesham said that had the fire stretched to nearby firecracker shops, the entire market would have been turned into an inferno. He said it was a very difficult task, because of a complexed construction of shops inside the market. This is a very dangerous building in case of a fire, he added.
Ehtesham said 15 fire tenders including snorkel were used to put off fire within three hours. He admitted that it took a little longer to extinguish the fire, because of narrow lanes, which hindered entry of fire men as well as fire tenders inside the market.
He pointed out that open electric wiring was also hindering fire control operation. He said that garments inside the godown were completely gutted while three to four shops have been damaged partially. Responding to a question about the cause of fire, he said it could have been the negligence of people working inside the market.