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Pindi plaza gutted in July 29 blaze lacked firefighting system

RAWALPINDI: Even though some shopkeepers did have fire extinguishers, there was no fire sprinkler system installed in the commercial building, Gulf Centre, to save lives and property, extinguish a fire, or keep it under control long enough for firefighters to arrive. Additionally, there was no fire alarm system installed in commercial buildings to detect and alert emergency services of the presence of smoke, fire or other fire-related emergencies. A major fire broke out in the commercial building on July 29 causing damage to more than 40 shops, offices and warehouses located on the second floor, partially damaging the two adjacent commercial buildings and killing a young worker (tailor) by suffocation. The ill-fated day was Ashura when the fire engulfed the commercial building that once housed a boutique, tailoring shops, warehouse and offices. The mobile phone services were suspended in some areas – including Rehmanabad and adjacent areas which delayed the emergency response. Liaquat Chohan, secretary general of the traders’ union of Gulf Centre, said that fire extinguishing cylinders had been installed in the building but there was no proper fire sprinkler system. “The fire extinguishers were ineffective as fire could not be controlled with them,” he said, adding that Rescue 1122 did not have enough resources, however, the firefighters of CDA and Bahria Town had done well. He said that the traders of the building had suffered a huge loss which was yet to be estimated; however, the building loss was estimated at Rs1.75 crore. Mr Chohan said that the traders had already been facing problems due to the lack of a traffic plan on Murree Road and now the encroachments on the road and in front of their building had made matters worse. When asked whether anybody from the district administration had visited the damaged building for inquiry, he replied in the negative. He said they visited the commissioner in the first week of August after waiting for several days, following which an assistant commissioner visited the building with his team and asked some questions before leaving. Following the fire incident, Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha constituted an inquiry committee to determine the cause of the fire and negligence on the part of the firefighting operation. The committee was asked to complete the task within 10 days. Though the deadline has passed, the commissioner told Dawn that the committee report is awaited and hopefully it will be received within the next two days. “The Civil Defence Department has been activated and directed to ensure the installation of hydrant pumps in commercial buildings to ensure the availability of water,” said the commissioner. While referring to the Gulf Centre fire incident, the commissioner said the negligence of Rescue 1122 also surfaced as sometimes they ran short of water and other times experienced issues with their pumps. Five firefighting vehicles with crew from Capital Development Authority (CDA) helped to control the fire, he said, adding that the district officer of Rescue 1122 was transferred due to their negligence. The family members of the young tailor who died in the incident said that had the fire sprinkling system or the fire alarms been installed in the building, their kin would have been among them today. In the past, inquiry reports have blamed such blazes on short circuits or similar issues, but despite these reports, authorities had failed to ensure the installation of fire extinguishing systems in commercial buildings. They also could not ensure regular inspection of electrical wiring, allocation of parking space and proper emergency exists. Now, only time will tell the fate of the commissioner’s proposal to ensure hydrant pumps are installed in commercial buildings. Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023
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