KARACHI: Firefighters rushed to a yarn factory near Metroville in Karachi’s SITE Town on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, after a fire broke out a warehouse belonging to Ormondia Garments Factory, located at Plot No. A-14 on the building’s third floor, prompting an emergency, rescue officials said.
The factory warehouses containing large quantities of yarn cones, raising concerns about the firefighting operation, according to rescue officials.
Seven fire engines arrived at the scene and began firefighting operations. A snorkel unit operated by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s the fire brigade also reached the site to assist with the response.
The fire brigade requested immediate assistance from the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation to ensure an adequate water supply during the operation, a corporation spokesperson said.
In response, the water utility declared an emergency at its Crush Plant hydrant and dispatched water tankers to the factory.
The utility’s hydrant cell chief remained in contact with fire brigade and rescue officials to coordinate the supply of water.
The spokesperson said the corporation’s chief executive officer’s focal person for hydrant operations was personally monitoring the response.
The water utility pledged full cooperation with emergency responders and said it would continue supplying water tankers until the fire was completely extinguished.
Authorities had not provided further details about the cause of the fire, possible casualties or the extent of the damage in the initial information released.
Moreover, in September, a major fire tore through a clothing factory in Karachi’s Landhi Export Processing Zone, damaging two factories and causing part of one building to collapse, Rescue 1122 said.
The fire broke out around midday and continued into the night, with 16 fire tenders from Rescue 1122, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Fire Brigade and the export zone’s firefighting team working to extinguish the flames.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan said workers evacuated the factory as the fire spread. Although seven workers remained trapped when firefighters arrived, rescue teams safely brought them out. Three of them lost consciousness after inhaling smoke but suffered no burn injuries and received first aid at the scene.
The factory, which had a ground floor and three upper stories, imported used clothing for reconditioning and resale. The intense heat and prolonged exposure to flames caused extensive structural damage, with about half of the building collapsing and the remaining section also damaged.
The fire also spread to a neighboring factory, engulfing the building and causing serious structural damage. All goods stored in both facilities were destroyed, Khan said.
Despite the scale of the blaze, no deaths were reported, as workers managed to evacuate before the fire spread further. Rescue officials said the cause of the fire would be determined through an investigation after firefighters brought the blaze under control.
On January 17, 2026, a fire at the Gul Plaza shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan, which killed 80 people and injured over 20. The fire started after an unattended child accidentally set some artificial flowers alight with a matchstick in a shop on the ground floor.
The fire spread rapidly through an air-conditioning duct to the rest of the building. The shopping mall lacked fire extinguishers or emergency exit lights, and many of the exits were locked.
A city-wide emergency was declared shortly after the fire broke out. Firefighters lacked the rescue equipment needed to conduct a rescue operation, such as gas masks or lock cutters, and responded slowly. Some victims were severely burned by firefighting water heated to scalding temperatures by the flames.
At the request of the Sindh government, the Sindh High Court appointed Justice Agha Faisal to lead a single-member inquiry into the fire.
Furthermore, nearly eight years after a devastating fire at Ali Enterprises on Sept. 11, 2012, a Karachi garment factory that supplied German discount retailer KiK, killed 264 workers and injured more than 60 others, a court sentenced two men to death for arson on Sept. 22, 2020.
However, Saeeda Khatoon, head of the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association (AEFFAA), called the ruling a “mockery of justice.” The group represents survivors of the disaster and families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. Khatoon lost her only son, 18-year-old Aijaz Ahmed, in this fire.
Such devastating fires cause massive business losses, destroy livelihoods and put human lives at serious risk, highlighting the urgent need for stronger fire safety measures and stricter enforcement of safety regulations.
