• Structure declared ‘dangerous’ for habitation
• Owners of 170 flats demand compensation
• Deceased identified as KU student

KARACHI: A huge fire that erupted in a superstore’s basement in a multi-storey building near Jail Chowrangi on Wednesday morning that left scores of families living in the residential building displaced was brought under control on Thursday.

The so-called ‘cooling work’ continued till late in the evening as thick smoke was still emanating from the warehouse of the superstore while firefighters were facing difficulties in getting to the place where cooking oil was stored in huge quantity amid lack of proper entry and exit points.

The fire that burnt for hours has caused extensive damages to the structure of the residential building.

Chief fire officer Mubeen Ahmed said the fire had been controlled. However, cooling work was under way.

The fire chief lamented that there was no proper fire safety measures in industrial units and residential buildings in Karachi.

Building declared dangerous

The building has been declared ‘dangerous’ for living by Karachi Commissioner Mohammed Iqbal Memon after he visited the place along with Provincial Disaster Management Authority chief and officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).

An administrative order issued by the commissioner said that “consequent upon the fire incident, which is still continuing in Chase Super Store located at PECHS Block-3 near Jail Chowrangi, the building is hereby declared as ‘dangerous’ till clearance is issued by the SBCA.”

An identical order issued by DC East said that “after receiving the advice from the SBCA in respect of plot No. 159-R (Sumaya Bridge View) due to class three blazes, the said building has become dangerous.”

Assistant commissioner of Ferozabad Asma Batol told journalists that the building had been damaged extensively as it had developed cracks.

She added that nearby multi-storey buildings would also be vacated to avoid any incident.

She urged the nearby residents to vacate their houses.

Displaced residents’ ordeal

During a visit to the spot on Thursday, this reporter saw smoke was still rising from the basement and engulfed the area causing breathing problems for residents.

A tent with some charpoys (beds) was put up there for affected residents, including a large number of women who were compelled to take shelter under the Jail Chowrangi flyover and spend their night under the bridge.

The affected residents frequently gathered to hold meetings and consultations with each other, but were reluctant to talk to the media.

Some of them told this reporter to talk to the office-bearers of the union of the building.

When approached, Furqan and Nadeem, the president and secretary of the union, respectively, said they wanted compensation to the affected residents.

Mr Furqan said there were 170 flats and all of them had been vacated, some of the residents stayed at their relatives and some preferred hotels while some were still staying here in the tent.

Tonnes of cooking oil

Ferozabad SHO Arshad Janjua told Dawn that he could not say with certitude that the fire had been controlled. Smoke was still coming from the basement, he added.

The SHO said firefighters faced difficulties as a large number of goods, including four to 10 tonnes of cooking oil had been kept in the basement.

The fire was fuelled by the cooking oil. The firemen have protective gears, but no heat-resistant clothes as temperature in the basement has gone to 280 degree Celsius, he added. They had broken the walls and made holes in the parking area to throw water inside the basement.

The SHO said the fire remained restricted to the basement as there were two floors above the ground floor reserved for parking and there was nothing which could catch the fire.

A technical committee from the SBCA completed the preliminary inspection of the site. “The final inspection will be done once the fire has been extinguished,” according to a statement.

‘First day became last day at job’

The fire had claimed life of a young student of Karachi University, who got a job at the superstore just a day before, and injuries to several others.

He was identified as Wasi Siddiqi, 25, a resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, said an Edhi Foundation spokesperson.

The victim was a third-year student of the Economics department at Karachi University.

His father Raziuddin Siddiqi told the media that it was the first day of his job, which proved his last day.

The grief-stricken father said they came to know about the death of his son late in the night.

He regretted that neither the superstore administration, nor any government official had contacted them.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2022