• In his testimony, Danish Ali alleges lack of trained staff and equipment hampered timely response
• One of six survivors tells judicial commission they escaped on their own as smoke spread inside building

KARACHI: A man working as a fireman in a private firm narrated his heroic efforts before the Gul Plaza Judicial Commission on Wednesday, which led to the rescue of 11 persons from the burning building on the night of Jan 17.

The man, Danish Ali, maintained that he had voluntarily participated in the rescue operation as the windows of the ill-fated building were either blocked with inventory or completely sealed, while the gates were largely locked.

The single-member commission headed by Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court also recorded the statement of one of the six persons, who had managed to escape from the deadly blaze, as the remaining survivors did not turn up.

Mr Ali deposed that he had been working as a fireman for the last 11 years and was currently employed at an industrial unit. “After completing my duty, I was passing near the Gul Plaza on the night of Jan 17 and noticed thick clouds of smoke emanating from the building, which was later identified as a fire,” he said.

He also submitted that the fire was spreading rapidly, and a few individuals on the third floor were screaming for help, and he sought the assistance of the fire crew to provide him with ladders to rescue them.

The witness further testified that he, along with a volunteer of the Edhi Foundation and a labourer, started rescuing people with the help of ladders and managed to rescue 11 persons, including seven from the third floor and four from the rooftop by climbing up through the adjacent Rimpa Plaza.

He maintained that firefighting personnel were not actively working and most of them were not professionally trained. As per fire protocols, the first vehicle reaching the fire site must be loaded with proper equipment, including gas masks and breathing apparatus, but nothing was available, he added.

The witness also asserted that the windows of the building were either blocked with the inventory or completely locked, and the gates were also mainly closed, while there was also no need to completely shut the electricity.

“I further state that in normal circumstances, fire does not spread so rapidly, and the fire department is also responsible for not rescuing the people within the response time due to lack of professional staff and in the absence of necessary equipment”, he alleged.

Thereafter, the commission invited the municipal commissioner, chief fire officer and director general of Rescue 1122 to cross-examine the witness as he had levelled serious accusations of misconduct.

The commission also recorded the statement of Syed Abdullah, who testified that he was busy in shopping on the mezzanine floor of Gul Plaza when the electricity supply switched off and people began shouting that a fire had erupted in the building, while smoke was also rapidly spreading inside the building.

He also stated that he, along with some shopkeepers, attempted to escape by partially removing an iron grill gate as the same was locked.

He, along with some shopkeepers, was brought down with the help of a decorating truck; in the meantime, he fell unconscious.

Responding to a question of the commission about the role of building management or rescue services in saving people, he said that they came out of the building at their own and he did not notice their participation in the rescue operation.

The commission had also summoned five other survivors, but they did not turn up.

Meanwhile, the commission also issued notice to Additional Controller Civil Defence Fatima Memon after outgoing director Abdul Hameed informed it that he could not reply to the questionnaires as he was no longer holding the charge.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2026