Blaze Hits Millennium Mall Karachi: Major Damage, Fire Contained

A fire that broke out at Millennium Mall located in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday night was almost doused, leaving over 250 shops damaged, a rescue official said.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan told Business Recorder that the fire was under control and it would further take 2 to 3 hours to completely extinguish it.

Two floors of the three-storey building were completely destroyed, and each floor had more than 150 shops, Hassaan told.

As per an earlier statement, more than 12 fire brigade trucks along with 2 snorkels and 4 ambulances were present at the site.

The rescue operation faced challenges due to the intensity of the smoke and the lack of an uninterrupted water supply, the statement said.

Fire at Karachi's Millennium Mall brought under control

 A massive blaze that erupted in Millennium Mall located on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road on Tuesday, destroying over 500 shops, is almost doused by firefighters after several hours of hectic efforts, a rescue official said.

In November of 2023, city planners, engineers and experts of building plans at a symposium were sure that some 90 per cent of all structures in Karachi — residential, commercial and industrial — did not have a fire prevention and firefighting system.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan told Dawn.com that the rescue team arrived at the mall within 15 minutes of receiving information of the fire at 4:06am. There, a security guard informed them that the fire had erupted inside surveillance system of a control room due to a short circuit on the third floor.

The spokesperson was of the view that perhaps the mall management had initially overlooked the fire.

When the firemen arrived there, the fire had spread onto the roof of the mall, where chillers were being kept as it was centrally air conditioned. This intensified the fire and heavy flames emanating from it touched the windows of the nearby Saima Mall and Residency building, triggering fears of a fire there.

However, 12 fire tenders, with the help of two snorkels, managed to control the fire after hectic efforts lasting for several hours. Cooling work is still continuing.

Khan said it might take two more hours to completely extinguish the fire. He elaborated that the fire has been extinguished by up to 90 per cent, adding that it is taking a long time because of the presence of large objects inside shops. Firefighters are searching every shop to extinguish any flames there.

He said that the third floor of the three-storey building was completely destroyed, while the first and second floor were partially damaged. There were more than 150 shops on each floor.

He estimated that around 500-600 shops were badly destroyed, causing significant financial losses, but no injuries were reported.