Share this story!            

Burnt old buildings will go down

By Noshad Ali

LAHORE: The KFC fire on The Mall has been brought under control but the adjoining old buildings have been completely damaged and will be demolished.

A fire brigade official outside the buildings said that about 22 fire units including those of the cantonment board and civil aviation, using 19 Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) vehicles, one Civil Defence vehicle and three City District Government Lahore (CDGL) vehicles, extinguished the fire after 12 hours.

He said firefighters could not reach the site because ‘enraged mobs’ had surrounded all fire stations. “The fire spread to other buildings because of the delay, causing a loss of billions of rupees,” he said. He said the new KFC building might be restored but the three adjoining buildings housing Muslim Commercial Bank, National Bank and Telenor would have to be reconstructed.

He said the old buildings were severely damaged because they were built with limestone and mortar and their ceilings had wooden beams and girders. Fire Officer Raja Altaf said the department’s response was delayed because people threw stones on fire brigade vehicles when they tried to move towards the site. “We rushed to the fire sites as soon as we were able to move,” he said.

He said he could not comment on the buildings’ condition because it was not his field, only the CDGL’s engineering department could comment on it. He said he did not notice the buildings’ conditions because he was busy extinguishing fire. “I will see the buildings on Thursday,” he said.

Home | National

Share this story!