According to a fire brigade official, the category-III fire broke out at the Universal Garment Factory at about 9:30am and fire-tenders from various stations in the city were sent to extinguish it. The fire-fighting operation was continuing till last reports came in.

An adjoining factory having stocks of chemicals inside was, however, saved from catching the fire, he added.

In another fire incident, two shops of plastic items at Qasim Centre in the Urdu Bazaar area of Orangi Town were gutted on Friday morning.

The blaze was extinguished by the fire brigade after three hours of hectic efforts, a fire department official said, adding that it was prevented from spreading to other parts of the five-storey residential-cum-commercial building.—PPI