PESHAWAR: Firefighters from several districts put out a factory blaze on the western fringes of the provincial capital after several hours of effort.

Rescue 1122 said that the fire erupted at around 1:40pm inside the Royal PVC Green Tissue Paper and Diapers Factory in the Hayatabad Industrial Estate, adjacent to Karkhano Market and Khyber tribal district.

Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122, told Dawn that the fire was apparently caused by an electrical short-circuit.

He, however, said that there were no casualties in the incident.

No casualties reported

The spokesman said that due to the intensity of the blaze, firefighters and fire tenders were called in from nearby districts to put down the fire.

“Firefighters and fire engines from Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, Nowshera and Khyber districts also worked to extinguish the fire,” he said, adding that more than 30 fire tenders, including 10 from districts other than Peshawar, took part in the operation.

Mr Faizi also said that 60 firefighters also participated in the exercise, with several fainting due to the intense fire.

He said that the firefighters struggled to put out the blaze because most of the material used in the factory was of polythene, which quickly melted and spread all over the place.

“Rescue workers tried to control the blaze with foam and water,” he said.

The spokesman said that the fire was almost 50 per cent under control.

Hayatabad Medical Complex’s medical director Shahzad Akbar Khan told Dawn that the hospital received a few patients with minor burns and all of them were discharged after giving first aid.

The blaze was so intense that the thick plumes of smoke billowing from the burning factory were visible from several kilometers away in Peshawar Cantonment and Kohat Road areas.

Videos of the fire, shared on social media platforms, showed a large number of people shifting rolls of papers and diapers away from the burning factory.

Residents of Hayatabad said a thick plume of smoke hung over cantonment and city areas.

Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi spoke to the commissioner and directed him to ensure early control of the fire, according to an official statement.

The commissioner briefed the governor about the firefighting efforts.

The governor said that helicopters should be acquired from the Pakistan Air Force to put out the blaze, while all relevant departments should take emergency steps to extinguish the fire without delay.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2024