ISLAMABAD: Activated by the high heat, simple household chemicals triggered fire in the Information Services Academy at Zero Point.

The fire starting at around 12:15am on Saturday, was put off within half an hour by the collective efforts of five fire tenders, involving more than a dozen fire fighters.

Meanwhile, the onlookers had suspected arson as the sound of small blasts could be heard as the fire raged on.

However, the initial inquiry conducted by the Academy has revealed that the fire started in the store room of the building situated at the third floor, and there was no arson.

Talking to Dawn a senior official of the Academy said that the store room contained all routine items including air freshers, cans of cleaners and other stationary items, etc.

“The banging sound came from the explosive cans, which was confused with some other activity,” the official added.

Incidentally, the sound of shattering window panes attracted the attention of adjoining media houses, who informed the fire brigade department of federal capital.

Due to the timely arrival of the fire tenders, the fire was contained and did not spread to other rooms even at that floor, including the admn & accounts department of the academy.

Another senior official of the Information Services Academy denied that record or official documents were gutted in the fire.

The official added that formal inquiry would be initiated from Monday (today), and added that the possible cause of fire might be the mixing of some chemicals in a high heat environment and the stationary items including papers, plastic material and cloths aggravated it. The initial loss has been estimated at around Rs300,000.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2025