Our cities keep reporting house fires. The number of fires goes up mainly in winters, an unfortunate reminder that when the temperature goes down in our part of the world the arrangements made by people to fight the cold are unsafe and inadequate. In the latest horrible fire incident, 150 huts were reduced to ashes in the Teen Hatti area of Karachi late on Tuesday. The scale of the fire can be gauged from the fact that it was put out early on Wednesday after hectic efforts lasting several hours. Thankfully, no one was injured but the raging flames reduced everything in the area to waste. Residents, all poor people, have to start their life from scratch. They are, however, thankful that no life was lost as property can be rearranged but lives cannot. The colony has been at that particular place for several years. It swelled in recent days when people displaced in the Lyari Expressway project also built their illegal structures in the Teen Hatti area. They should have been provided alternative places at the time of their displacement. Now, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani, who visited the area with Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani, has promised that the government would provide food, tents and blankets to the victims. As a body has been tasked with looking into the cause of the fire, it is a good opportunity for the government and civil society to remind the people about the dangers fires pose. Though there is no structured data available on house fires, it is, however, observed that the number of structure fires, such as in shops, homes, businesses and other buildings, goes up in this time of the year. When temperatures get chilly outside, people have a tendency to turn up gas or electric heaters or chimney fires. Careless handling of heaters or chimneys causes fires. Also, the prevalence of colder air lessens moisture, which means the wood is drier in winter and once in touch with fire, it helps the flame spread fast. This mostly happens in old homes where decades-old lumber is in perfect dry conditions to spread fire quickly. Also, rickety electrical wiring cause short-circuiting while carelessness in turning off gas heaters or ovens also results in disaster. Fires may continue occurring in the future, but it is good for us to know about their reasons. *