Fire renders family homeless
M. Irshadullah
CHITRAL: A house was gutted in a fire in the remote village of Khar Choom Lot Oveer in Upper Chitral on Saturday.
The fire spread so rapidly that it engulfed the entire house within moments. Since the area is remote and lacks fire brigade services, local residents made strenuous efforts to extinguish the flames using water and other available resources. After several hours of struggle, they managed to bring the fire under control, but by then, everything inside the house had turned to ashes.
The owner of the house, Abdul Jabbar, told Chitral Today on phone that he and his family had to take shelter under the open sky after the fire broke out.
“All my savings and belongings have been reduced to ashes. I am a poor man and have nothing left. I appeal to the government and philanthropists to help me so that I can arrange a roof over my children’s heads again.”
During the firefighting efforts, a local resident, Sharifur Rehman, sustained injuries and was given first aid. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the house fire, but the financial loss was substantial.
The residents have urged the government to provide immediate assistance to the affected family and establish a permanent fire brigade or an emergency response system in the area to prevent large-scale damage in such incidents in the future.