Firefighters are currently working to put out a huge blaze that erupted in a factory in the Landhi Industrial Area in the early hours of the day, a rescue official said on Sunday.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Abid Jalaluddin Sheikh, chief operating officer at Rescue 1122 Sindh, said that a fire broke out in a factory located in Landhi Export Processing Zone early Sunday morning, which spread rapidly and engulfed two other factories due to presence of combustible material there.

He said, “As soon as the information was received, the Fire and Rescue team of Rescue 1122 reached the spot.”

Rescue-1122 official Hassan Khan told Dawn.com that the fire started at 4:31am.

According to Sheikh, a total of 12 fire brigade trucks,two snorkels and two ambulances of Rescue 1122 and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) are present at the spot to provide full assistance to deal with any emergency situation.

“The rescue operation is facing difficulties due to the intensity of smoke and other difficulties, as well as the shortage of water, but Rescue 1122 is making efforts to control the fire,” he said.

Presently, Sheikh highlighted that firefighting operations were “in full swing and full efforts are being made to reduce the intensity of the fire because the intensity of the fire is very high”.

“The Rescue 1122 team is making full efforts to control this emergency situation by utilising all possible resources,” he said, adding that citizens have been requested to immediately report any emergency to 1122.

Fire incidents are common in the metropolis due to the absence of adequate fire safety measures in buildings.

Thirty shops were gutted when a huge fire erupted in a commercial building in Clifton in February.

Four people, including one firefighter, were affected by smoke inhalation and 12 fire tenders worked for four hours to bring the fire under control.

Last year, the KMC informed the Sindh High Court that it had conducted a fire safety audit of over 265 commercial buildings, and not a single one was found to have a fire safety certificate or a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the fire brigade department.

Out of 265 buildings, around 155 did not have fire alarms and smoke detectors installed, while the status of nine such buildings was not available in this respect, the KMC report added.

Similarly, the condition of the wiring and electric system of over 155 buildings was termed unsatisfactory. Regarding access to firefighting equipment, the report said that around 200 buildings had no or unsatisfactory firefighting equipment.

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