KARACHI: Sindh Building Control Authority (SCBA) has declared a high-rise residential building declared unsafe after a fire erupted in a departmental store on the ground floor.
The SBCA has blamed the supermarket owner for the blaze which killed one person and injured others. The fire was which erupted on Wednesday morning was finally doused on Thursday after hectic efforts for more than one day.
A case has also been registered against department store owners Adeel Iqbal, Faraz Iqbal, Fahad Iqbal and Iqbal A. Ghaffar for negligence which resulted in the fire eruption.
The SBCA had said the basement of the building Samia Bridge View Apartment had been approved for parking but was being used as a warehouse to store goods.
They said rescue officials had difficulty controlling the fire in the store due to illegal activity. One person was killed and a few others were injured due to the inability to control the immediate fire. A case should be registered against Iqbal, Faraz Iqbal, Fahad Iqbal and other sons of Iqbal A. Ghaffar
The building, located near the Jail Chowrangi on Kashmir Road was visited by SBCA’s Ishaq Khorro on Wednesday night when the fire was still raging. He stated that the intensity of the fire had caused substantial damage to the building’s pillars and structure rendering it uninhabitable.
He added that the building would be re-inspected after the fire was brought under control and that demolition of various parts of the building had begun.
The fire also resulted in the death of a person and the loss of millions worth of goods. Rescue officials had earlier declared the blaze category 3 and were able to extinguish it after more than 30 hours.
The blaze erupted at around 10:30am in the warehouse of Chase Super Store at Samia Bridge View Apartment, a multi-storey building in PECHS Block 3.
The management of the superstore tried to extinguish the fire with the available fire extinguishers and also made distress calls for the fire brigade.
Within minutes smoke engulfed the entire building, creating panic among residents. Many living on upper floors were trapped as the smoke increased and had to be evacuated with the help of a ladder.
