Karachi: A massive fire was reported in the Kashif Center which is a 15-storey building situated at Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi which burned the building. Preliminary findings show that a short circuit in the wiring system of the building led to the fire. The fire started on the second floor and quickly extended to the higher floors since there were no emergency stairs.
A fire alarm triggered the emergency services to rush eight fire brigade vehicles to the scene. However, their timely arrival was overshadowed by the lack of emergency exits in the building as several people became trapped. Fire fighting is ongoing at the moment, and two fire tenders and a snorkel are being employed to put out the fire and evacuate the occupants.
Eyewitnesses who managed to flee cited that the fire started in the electrical wiring system and revealed the fact that the building lacked the necessary safety features. The snorkel which is a special fire tender with an aerial ladder is also proving useful in accessing the people trapped on higher floors.
The fire brigade has been able to put out the fire, but the building has been adversely affected. The rescue operations continue as emergency services continue to make efforts to evacuate all people in the building. This event has provoked discussions regarding fire safety standards and the necessity of increasing oversight to avoid such tragedies in the future. Officials are still trying to determine the root of the short circuit and evaluating the conditions of the building.
