LAHORE: A fire in a shoe factory near Ravi Road’s Timber Market on Saturday destroyed a huge stock of leather, furniture and machinery.

Erupted on the ground floor of the factory, the fire engulfed the entire building within minutes.

Dozens of employees working on all the floors came out of the building shortly after they saw dense smoke coming out of its ground floor, witnesses told the media.

They said the fire intensified due to a huge stock of flammable material including several sheets of leather, chemical drums and paper.

The flames followed by dense smoke created panic in the vicinity and the people living in the area left their homes to avoid breathing problem, an employee, Rashid, told journalists.

The Rescue 1122 sent teams and special vehicles which faced a challenging situation due to the intensity of the flames and dense smoke. The rescuers with the help of additional force fought the flames for four hours and controlled the situation, said a spokesperson.

Answering a question, he said the huge stock of raw material and machinery were gutted and cracks appeared on the building which could not be further used due to the damage to its roof and foundation.

The premises would be handed over to police for further investigation into the fire incident after cooling process which was going on till the filing of this report, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2019