Massive and frightening blazes which gut down properties and claim lives have become yet another news item in Pakistan. We have so many huge problems that such gory fires only surface when there is no other news, otherwise they just get a passing mention in media. Thankfully, for the last couple of days there was no sit-in or public gathering of Imran Khan so the Pakistani media had to focus on other non-real issues e.g. raging fires in different parts of the country. So Pakistanis got to know about huge fires in Karachi and Lahore. Tow days ago, a major fire broke out in a timber warehouse due to which 450 shops and warehouses, along with 250 houses, were reduced to ashes in Old Haji Camp in the Shershah Police limits on Sunday, causing over a one billion rupees loss. The response of Sindh government was delayed which also contributed to more destruction. A rapid fire in a plaza in New Anarkali area of Lahore left at least 13 people dead, including one woman and child. The victims died of burns and suffocation.
The response of Lahore authorities was quick, but design of building was so bad that the victims got trapped. It was a miracle that only 13 died because there were hundreds of people inside. In both Lahore and Karachi, the cause of the fire was stated to be an electric short circuit. In both cases, the fire spread in minutes. In Karachi, it took the firefighters 17 hours to control the fire. In Lahore, it took only couple of hours. It is extremely important to take steps to avert the recurrence of such tragedies in the future. The response of Sindh government was very shameful. The Sindh government had no appropriate arrangements to extinguish the conflagration. There were a few firefighting vehicles. Water was already used up. Also, there was no snorkel and response of authorities was slow and delayed. Design of buildings, quality checks of electrical systems and escape routes out of buildings needs to be checked out. This should be a regular exercise in every public building. I know for a fact that such checks are in place, laws are there and regulatory bodies are there but they are dysfunctional. And I don’t see any improvement in future.
Blog post Written by Sameer Shaharyar and you can visit the original article at http://www.pkhope.com/