LAHORE, Nov 26: A factory owner and a local fainted when a fire broke out in his paperboard unit in Sector D-1 of Township early on Wednesday.

The machinery, manufactured corrugated rolls/cartons, a pickup, furniture and electric appliances were reduced to ashes in the fire which was said to be erupted owing to a short-circuit at around 12am, Rescue 1122 said.

They said factory owner Nadeem Aziz, 28, and a local, Nasir Ali, fainted and the former was shifted to Jinnah Hospital.

Nadeem Aziz of the PCSIR Housing Society, who owned Nanwa Packages, told Dawn that the cause of the blaze was still unknown as his pickup parked at the garage of the manufacturing unit caught fire which engulfed the entire unit.

“I left the factory at night after closing the main power switch and my watchman had to reach there after 12am,” he said and added that short-circuit was out of question.

He claimed that his business was not insured and he suffered a loss of about Rs2.5 million.

In another incident, a generator caught fire in a factory near Hamdard Chowk in Kot Lakhpat.

The Rescue 1122 fire service said the generator and its accessories were gutted in the fire, while the factory owned by Dr Waleed remained safe.

Rescue 1122 and City Fire Brigade controlled the blaze after a three-hour effort.