Mauripur warehouse fire doused after 14 hours

A tyre warehouse in Mauripur was substantially damaged in a massive fire that broke out in the early hours of Tuesday, whereas two furniture shops were burnt in a separate incident in Malir.

No casualties were reported in either of the cases. 

Officials of the Saddar Fire Station said the blaze in Mauripur broke out at around 1:03am in a warehouse – Plot No XK-428, Lyari Quarters, Mauripur Road – and two fire tenders were initially dispatched.

However, the fire quickly intensified to a ‘third-degree blaze’ leading to an emergency being imposed and fire tenders being called in from around the city. 

Despite the increased resources, it took 14 hours to completely douse the blaze. As the warehouse was located adjacent to the PAF Base Masroor, the entire operation was aerially monitored using the air force’s choppers.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Tehseen Ahmed admitted that the damage could have been reduced as the fire mainly spread due to an initial shortage of water. Besides Pakistan Navy’s two fire tenders, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) sent in eight fire tenders, and two were sent in by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Two water bowsers were also a part of the operation.

Speaking to The News, Keamari SP Arif Aziz said the workers present at the warehouse at night claimed that the fire started after a spark that emanated from an unknown source landed inside one of the sheds. 

However, the SP added that according to the police’s information there were no fireworks taking place nearby when the fire broke out, hence the cause of the fire could only be ascertained after further investigation. 

The day’s other fire incident was reported at a furniture market in Memon Goth, Malir. That blaze, officials said, broke out at around 2:15 am and destroyed two shops. An official of the fire department said it took three fire tenders an hour to douse the blaze.