Devastation of fires

You were literally like the name of the mall if you were in that mall in Karachi that caught fire a few days ago. Those that had come up with the name ‘lucky’ must be patting their backs for a name that had such a profound effect that by the grace of God no one was hurt in this mall fire. Yes, another fire in a shopping mall in Karachi when it has not been too long that a fire engulfed another shopping mall resulting in heavy loss of life.

There were the usual hue and cry and formation of commissions and investigative committees whose reports might not surface in the near future by all calculations. This latest incident made me think of what is the situation of fires bursting out in other countries and causing damage to property and loss of life. After some research I was shocked to find out that on an average, fire-related incidents cause over 180,000 deaths worldwide annually.

Surprising thing is that many of these fires occur in residential areas. The casualties in residential areas are mostly due to smoke inhalation as the smoke suffocates victims much before the flames.

Observing statistics by country and region I was surprised to know that the USA tops the list with 1.3 million fire accidents in a year. While here too residential fires top the list but many are also saved as many houses are equipped with smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.

Europe is second in case of such fires with over 1 million incidents of fire. It must be noted that in the USA and the European countries with high safety standards and strict fire codes have lesser fatalities.

In Asia fire prevention is not a priority and old homes with faulty wiring and lack of regular servicing contribute to incidents that cause loss of life.

In third world countries, smoking is also a cause of fire when half extinguished cigarettes are carelessly thrown from moving vehicles or on garbage dumps resulting in fires that cause loss of life. A recent fire incident in which many poverty-stricken individuals not only lost their huts but also their livelihood in the form of Rickshaws and hand carts seemed a case in point.

In Pakistan, little attention is paid to fire safety on an individual basis. It might be that some houses have fire extinguishers but that is very rare. Going shopping in Pakistan no one seems to have a fire extinguisher on their mind. I was surprised to see that even after major fires in Karachi there was no advertising campaign by any supplier for fire extinguishers or even campaign by social welfare organisations urging citizens to install fire extinguishers in their homes.

Forget the individuals the city of Karachi is now dotted with sky-scrapers brimming with life as thousands move to high-rise buildings but what is missing in most buildings is fire-fighting equipment. I do not also remember to see any safety instructions in any building instructing residents how to behave in case of fire. It seems that fire is the last thing residents of these high-rises expect to happen.

High-rise buildings might escape the fury of a fire lighted by the neglect of some individual but when such neglect happens in roadside shanty towns with no preventive equipment or knowledge of fire prevention it is only natural that all hell breaks loose. Ignorance with lack of preventive equipment wrecks havoc and this happens quite frequently in shanty towns spread across Karachi.

The many incidents that have caused loss of life due to fires in Karachi should be a warning sign for all concerned. A greater awareness and availability of equipment and knowledge can save lives in critical times. I hope those that were recently lucky have learned a lesson, and so have all the others and the concerned will ensure that not only are there the required equipment to face any such crisis but also trained individuals to save unnecessary loss of life.

High-rise buildings have committees running the show and I hope they take up this matter urgently and at least get the basic fire-fighting equipment for their buildings.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026