RAWALPINDI: Rescue personnel were engaged in efforts to douse a large fire that engulfed a factory in Rawat Industrial Estate on Monday, according to officials.
According to Rescue 1122, the fire at the textile factory broke out at around 4:30pm and efforts to extinguish are still under way.
Factory owner M. Usman informed the police at around 15:45pm that a fire had erupted in his factory.
Dense plumes of smoke could be seen above the industrial area from miles away after the fire broke out.
An initial statement by Rescue 1122 said 13 fire tenders and more than 45 rescue personnel were participating in the operation. According to latest updates by Rescue 1122, a snorkel is also being employed in the operation while fire tenders and the help of firefighters had been sought from nearby districts as well.
“The fire has been stopped from spreading further,” the Rescue 1122 statement said.
A Rescue 1122 spokesperson earlier told Dawn that assistance had also been sought from fire and rescue services of Bahria, Islamabad and Water and Sanitation Agency, Rawalpindi. He said that the blaze had initially been described as a second degree fire.
At around 8pm, a rescue official had told Dawn that there were no reports of any person getting injured or trapped inside the building until then.
An eye witness, Yasir, who did not give his last name, told Dawn that the fire was so intense that the firefighters were struggling to control it even after three hours.
“I can hear the sound of loud explosions from inside the factory,” he added.
The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.
All high-rise buildings in the garrison city have been served notices to adopt fire safety measures within 30 days, it emerged earlier this month.
A meeting held at the deputy commissioner’s office, chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner General Dr Hasaan Tarriq, was informed that there are 163 high-rise buildings in the district.
These include those under the cantonment boards. Of these, two buildings fall under Grade A, three under Grade B, six under Grade C and 152 under Grade D.
On January 31, two persons were safely evacuated after a fire erupted in a residential building in Phase-7 of Bahria Town in Rawalpindi.
More to follow
