KARACHI: Firefighters brought under control a blaze that engulfed two floors of a 13-story commercial building at M.A. Jinnah road on Tuesday, with no casualties reported.

In a statement, Rescue 1122 had said its fire and rescue team — along with two ambulances, four firetrucks, and a snorkel — reached the site as soon as they received an alert about the blaze at Rimpa Plaza.

The fire started from the fourth floor of the 13-story building, the rescue service said, adding that difficulties were being faced to douse the fire “due to improper ventilation” in the building.

After a few hours of effort, the fire was successfully

put off.

“The fire has been controlled and cooling work (extinguishing remaining hot spots) is underway,” Rescue 1122 official Hassaan Khan told Dawn.com. “No casualties have been reported.”

He said that the building mostly comprised godowns where spare parts of different machinery and raw materials for making tyres, among other things, had been stored. The building also housed shops, offices, and a clinic.

“The fire erupted in a shop on the 4th floor, which rapidly spread, engulfing the 4th floor initially and later on the 5th floor as well. Both floors were completely destroyed while the 6th and 7th floors were partially damaged,” he said.

Khan added that some short circuit failure was being suspected as the probable cause of the fire.

Earlier, the Karachi Traffic Police said in a statement that M.A. Jinnah Road had to be blocked for traffic near Saeed Manzil at 1:28pm due to the fire. It added that traffic was being diverted towards Regal Chowk and Gul Plaza.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the blaze, ordering immediate action to be taken to douse the fire. He also sought a detailed report from Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi.

CM Shah further ordered the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and other departments concerned to inspect buildings in order to stop such incidents.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024