KARACHI: A minor fire broke out at Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab’s office on Tuesday after the outer unit of an air conditioner caught fire inside the historic Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) building.
South Deputy Inspector General Asad Raza confirmed that the incident was minor, while Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan said fire tenders were dispatched to the building and quickly brought the blaze under control.
No casualties were reported. The official said the fire damaged only the AC’s outdoor unit and was apparently caused by a short circuit. The incident comes amid growing concerns over fire safety in Karachi, where several major blazes have occurred in recent months.
On Monday, at least three people suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation after a major fire broke out at a factory in the Karachi Export Processing Zone (EPZ) near Landhi. The blaze destroyed a large portion of the three-storey facility and damaged neighbouring factories.
Earlier, the deadly Gul Plaza fire on January 17 claimed at least 73 lives and destroyed more than 1,100 shops. Firefighters took nearly two days to completely extinguish the blaze.
A major fire at a plastic factory in Landhi EPZ in February also spread to nearby industrial units, requiring around 13 hours of firefighting efforts.
Other recent incidents included a fire at a high-rise building near Baloch Colony, which led to the evacuation of around 150 people, and a blaze at a chemical factory in SITE Industrial Area.
In March, firefighters battled a fire at the Zamzama branch of Imtiaz Superstore for several hours before bringing it under control.
In June, hundreds of people were evacuated after a fire erupted in a department store’s cold storage facility inside a major shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road.
Frequent fire incidents have highlighted concerns over faulty electrical systems, inadequate safety infrastructure and weak enforcement of fire safety regulations in commercial and industrial buildings across the country.
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