Rescue 1122 firefighters on Friday are still working to bring under control a fire at a tobacco warehouse in the Azamabad area of Razaar tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district that has been raging for 38 hours.

The fire, which broke out at 4am on Thursday morning, was still out of control today, forcing firefighters to continue their extinguishing efforts.

A Rescue 1122 official, Luqman Khan, said that the three-storey warehouse was filled with ‘white patta’ tobacco and its stems that were mainly used in snuff and cigarettes.

“The biggest problem for the firefighters was that no ventilator or exhaust were built,” the official said.

He said that the rescue team drilled holes in the walls from the outside to start the process of putting out the fire, adding that it was such a difficult task that “four firefighters fainted during the operation”.

According to the official, the intensity of the fire had compelled the district administration to contact Rescue 1122, requesting additional fire extinguishing vehicles and firefighters from the districts of Mardan and Nowshera as well as Swabi tehsil municipal administration staff.

The owner of the warehouse, Muhammad Bashir, said that he was not in a position to state how much was lost, but was extremely perturbed watching the fire rage.

“All my capital has turned into ashes. Now, I have to start again from zero. I don’t know what to do. It’s a strange situation,” he said.

He added that the huge building, which he had built, was also destroyed.

Bashir further said that the cause of the fire was unknown. However, he added, “This fire (was) not self-ignited; it was set off by someone else. I am fully confident in what I am saying.”

Rescue 1122 Swabi District Emergency Officer Owais Babar said: “We stand with the affected businessman till the last moment. Our team will remain on the spot until the threat of fire is completely eliminated.”

Fires frequently erupt in buildings across Pakistan due to a mix of poor infrastructure, weak enforcement of safety regulations, and widespread negligence. Many structures lack proper fire exits, alarms, and emergency protocols, while faulty wiring and overloaded power systems increase the risk of electrical short circuits.

Last month, a huge fire erupted in Karachi’s Millennium Mall, ostensibly due to an electrical short circuit, and destroyed several hundred shops, causing substantial financial losses. It was brought under control after hectic efforts lasting several hours.

Also in June, a fire at a factory in Karachi Export Processing Zone near Landhi took 36 hours to bring under control, destroying three factories completely and leaving five people injured, including four firefighters.