KARACHI: A warehouse of firecrackers on Sunday morning caught fire in a residential area of Karachi, near MA Jinnah Road.
All sorts of crackers went off with powerful sounds of different kinds, spreading panic among residents of the nearby houses. Clouds of smoke hovered over the multi-storey buildings.
Three vehicles of fire brigade initially arrived at the site of the incident to douse the blaze. Firecrackers continued to discharge, until the fire brigade‘s operation lasted. The fire also damaged the vehicles parked near the warehouse, whose owner has been identified as Hanif.
Fire brigade officials said they had stopped fire from spreading further despite hurdles because of huge amount of crackers stored there. Station Officer Saddar Fire Station Zaheer Siddiqui said the fire was controlled with the help of six vehicles.
‘Police arrest man involved in fire incident’
Deputy Commissioner South Irshad Sodhar said they received information about the fire at 11:00am and the blaze was timely controlled. Without naming the person, he said a man involved in the incident was arrested by police. “It is illegal to build a cracker warehouse in a residential area,” he said.
Responding to some media reports, the deputy commissioner clarified that it was not a crackers factory, rather it was a warehouse where firecrackers were stored. He said ostensibly there was no element of sabotage, however they would still investigate it from every aspect.
A resident of the area said a warehouse of firecrackers in a residential area was dangerous. He said few years ago blaze had erupted in another warehouse of Hanif in the same area.