Gul Plaza tragedy: Power outage worsened casualties, Chief Fire Officer tells commission

Karachi: The Chief Fire Officer revealed before the judicial commission on the Gul Plaza tragedy that human lives could have been saved if the electricity in the plaza had not been cut off and proper announcements had been made.

The judicial commission investigating the Gul Plaza fire, headed by Justice Agha Faisal, held a session in which DG Rescue 1122 Wajid Subghatullah appeared before the commission.

Justice Agha Faisal asked him to explain what happened that night. DG Rescue 1122 said that they received the fire report at 10:35 PM, and the fire brigade arrived at 10:52 PM.

When asked how the fire was fought, Wajid Subghatullah explained that they started extinguishing the fire using ladders, and video evidence of this is available.

Later, fire brigade vehicles and snorcles from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation also arrived. DG Rescue 1122 stated that they had advised K-Electric to cut off the power, but the commission asked if he was part of the decision to cut electricity. He replied that he was not involved in that decision.

He added that when they arrived, the ground floor was already on fire. They tried to rescue people from the mezzanine and third floors, but there was no entry from the ground floor or mezzanine to inside the building.

The commission inquired whether they had tools to cut grills. The DG responded that they did, but many windows were closed and some had iron grills.

Justice Agha Faisal asked whether breaking the window grills could have saved lives since the fire was on lower floors. DG Wajid Subghatullah explained that people on the mezzanine and first floors assumed the fire would be put out and that they could exit safely. Meanwhile, shopkeepers were removing goods. However, smoke and fire from the AC ducts spread to the mezzanine and first floors.

DG Rescue 1122 also stated that there was no natural lighting inside Gul Plaza, and the smoke was so thick that even mobile phone torches could not help visibility. Narrow pathways caused people to get trapped.

This account highlights the challenges faced by rescue teams and the critical role of electricity and emergency planning in preventing casualties during such tragedies.