At least four firemen and one cameraman of a private TV channel were injured on Tuesday when a huge fire destroyed a garment factory in New Karachi Industrial Area, according to police and rescue services officials.

Central District Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi told Dawn.com that the factory building that originally caught fire collapsed, and four firemen were injured as a result.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan, in a statement, said, “Besides the four firefighters, a cameraman of a private TV channel was also injured due to the building collapse.”

New Karachi Industrial Area Station House Officer (SHO) Rizwan Qureshi told Dawn.com that the fire erupted at around 6:30am and factory building collapsed around noon.

According to SSP Siddiqi, the presence of diesel drums compounded the fire, which spread rapidly, engulfing two more industrial units in its vicinity.

The injured firefighters were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, while further checks were being carried out at the Civil Hospital Karachi and the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for any additional casualties.

The police officer identified the four injured persons as 50-year-old Ismail, 35-year-old Owais, 30-year-old Buland, and Aslam, also aged 30 years. “They are in a stable condition,” he added.

SSP Siddiqi and the central district commissioner supervised the firefighting operation.

According to an update shared by SHO Qureshi around 3.15pm, the fire was brought under control by then but the cooling work still ongoing.

Detailing the rescue operation, Haseeb said the firemen “immediately” responded after receiving information about the fire. A fire and rescue team, one ambulance and five fire tenders reached the spot and assisted in controlling the fire.

The Rescue 1122 claimed that the immediate response helped them in controlling the blaze, but the building collapsed due to the impact of the fire.

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.

According to city planners and engineers, 70 per cent of residential, commercial and industrial buildings in Karachi lacked an adequate fire safety system. Citing official data of the city’s fire department, Fire Protection Association President Kunwar Waseem said the city witnessed nearly 3,000 such incidents in 2024.

In late August, at least six people died in a fire that broke out after a massive explosion inside a warehouse in a densely populated area near Karachi’s Taj Medical Complex.

Earlier that month, a massive blaze at a factory in the Karachi Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) near Landhi injured eight people and damaged at least three other factories.