Karachi will get 50 new fire tenders by January: Ismail

KARACHI: The federal government was purchasing 50 new fire tenders for the metropolis which would be given to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) by January 2021, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said on Thursday.

The governor said this while meeting the victims of Hijrat Colony incident in which four people were burnt to death after a fire broke out last month.

Governor Ismail said the arrival of 50 new fire tenders would improve the city’s firefighting strength to prevent such deadly incidents.

He said the government would arrange a rented accommodation for the people who had become homeless due to the Hijrat Colony fire incident and government would also pay the rent of the temporary accommodation for one year.

He said the fire incident was a massive tragedy but the government would not leave alone the affected family.

The governor said a review would be held to determine whether a late arrival of the fire brigade was responsible for the tragedy.

Fire Brigade held responsible

The Hijrat Colony residents had held the delayed response of the KMC’s Fire Brigade department responsible for the tragedy.

They claimed that the fire engines were late to arrive at the scene, causing the people trapped in the house to die of suffocation, according to a report.

However, District South Deputy Commissioner Irshad Ali Sodhar had told the media that the initial investigation suggested the fire was caused by a short circuit. He, however, admitted that nothing could be said with surety until the investigation was completed. 

He also said the victims had apparently died of suffocation.

Police said they had found no signs of foul play during their initial investigation, adding that a case would be registered if any criminal angle was discovered during the course of the investigation.