KARACHI: A huge fire that erupted in a commercial high-rise on Sharea Faisal on Tuesday night was controlled on Wednesday after hectic efforts lasting 11 hours, with no one being injured in the incident and 15 persons inside the building safely rescued, officials said.

Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that apparently a short circuit failure had triggered the fire on several floors of the building.

Dr Abid Shaikh, director general of Sindh Emergency Service (Rescue-1122) told Dawn that the “devastating” fire had initially erupted on the seventh floor of Parsa Tower and rapidly spread to several other floors before it was doused by hours-long joint operation carried out by the KMC’s firefighters and Rescue-1122.

He said the building comprised three parking floors and 10 commercial office floors.

After receiving information about the fire on Tuesday at around 10:23pm, the rescue teams had rushed to the spot. 30 rescuers, including fire fighters, 3 fire tenders of Rescue-1122 immediately responded to provide back up support to six fire tenders and 1 snorkel of the KMC.

Dr Abid added that 15 individuals, including police officers and firefighters, were safely evacuated from the building with the help of a snorkel and rescuers equipped with Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). Despite challenges presented by a dense crowd, the collaborative efforts among stakeholders and the strategic involvement of the KMC Fire Brigade and Rescue- 1122 culminated in a successful rescue operation and the containment of the fire at the high-rise.

Speaking of the possible cause of fire, Dr Shaikh said that the exact cause was being ascertained but it was suspected that the fire had erupted from an air-conditioning duct that was made of thermopole material (flammable material).

He said that the building had a proper hydrant system installed with fire alarms.

The mayor said that seven days ago, a KMC team visited the building and found that it had fire safety system in place.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023