August 03, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 30, 1429

KARACHI, Aug 2: A major fire broke out on Saturday at a warehouse in Gul Plaza, a popular shopping complex in the city.

Though there was no casualty, panic hit hundreds of people on the crowded M.A. Jinnah Road when thick clouds of smoke from the four-storey structure enveloped a major portion of the busy avenue.

Traffic remained suspended for some time as six fire engines and over a dozen ambulances buzzed around the shopping plaza that sells a wide range of electrical appliances, furniture, toys, crockery, clothing and footwear.

Saeed Haroon, president of the Gul Plaza Managing Committee, told Dawn that the fire broke out at a warehouse of plastic crockery on the second floor of the building, housing over 1,200 shops.

“All the goods there had been reduced to ashes before the fire tenders put out the fire,” he said and added that the fire was caused by an electric short-circuit.

“There was no power supply in the plaza since morning and the fire broke out due to voltage fluctuation after the power supply returned,” he said.

Chief Fire Officer Ehtesham Uddin told Dawn that the four-storey structure was too complicated with no cross ventilation. “The whole floor turned into a smoke chamber immediately and it led to suffocation, hindering the rescue operation,” he added.

The chief fireman said the city administration pressed into service a massive firefighting and rescue apparatus, including a snorkel, as a precautionary measure.

“We immediately responded to the fire call and put out the fire within an hour.”

Mr Ehtesham said the fire was surely caused by an electric short-circuit as there were naked wiring in the plaza. “The building will prove too dangerous for the trapped people in case of a fire as the windows are also heavily grilled by shopkeepers,” he said.