Karachi'de Yangın Güvenliği Alarmı: Yüzlerce Binada Söndürücü ve Acil Çıkış Eksik

Safety audit reveals over 300 city buildings in Karachi lack even fire extinguishers

• Only 370 of 783 commercial and residential projects found in compliance with fire safety rules • 416 buildings do not have emergency exits • Survey raises concerns over emergency preparedness in commercial and residential buildings KARACHI: A comprehensive fire safety audit of buildings across the city has revealed widespread non-compliance with basic safety standards, raising concerns over emergency preparedness in the city’s commercial and residential structures. The audit, conducted across seven districts, assessed 783 buildings on four key parameters — adherence to approved layout, availability of emergency exits, presence of portable fire extinguishers, and overall risk categorisation. The exercise was ordered by the provincial government following the devastating fire at Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road that had killed scores of people in January. The chief secretary had constituted sub-divisional fire safety audit committees headed by assistant commissioners to conduct the survey. According to the consolidated district-wise fire safety audit report, only 370 out of 783 buildings, roughly 47 per cent, audited citywide showed “substantial compliance” with fire safety regulations, while 115 were found to be “non-compliant” and 298 had “partial compliance”. The audit found that 408 buildings did not have approved layouts and 455 were not constructed as per plan. As many as 416 buildings lacked emergency exits and 310 had no fire extinguishers. Overall, 239 buildings were classified as high risk. The report showed significant variations in fire safety compliance across Karachi’s seven districts, with 783 buildings audited citywide. District Central In Central district, 176 buildings were inspected. It recorded the highest number of high-risk structures at 103. Only 19 buildings had approved layouts and just 11 were constructed as per those plans. Emergency preparedness was the weakest here, with only seven buildings having emergency exits and 57 equipped with portable fire extinguishers. As a result, 42 buildings were marked non-compliant, 64 had partial compliance, and 70 showed substantial compliance. District East East district fared comparatively better among the larger districts. Of 181 buildings audited, 96 had approved layouts and 88 were built accordingly. Safety equipment was largely present, with 142 buildings having emergency exits and 175 with fire extinguishers. Risk levels were mostly medium, with 103 buildings in that category. Compliance was split evenly, with 87 buildings each in the substantial and partial categories, and only seven marked non-compliant. District Keamari Keamari, with the smallest sample of 36 buildings, showed the best overall safety record. As many as 25 buildings had approved layouts and were constructed as per plan, while 23 had emergency exits and 32 had fire extinguishers. Only one building was classified as high risk. Compliance was also high, with 27 buildings showing substantial compliance, seven partial, and just two non-compliant. District Korangi In Korangi, 183 buildings were audited, the highest among all districts. As many as 109 had approved layouts and 106 were built accordingly. However, gaps remained in safety equipment, with 95 buildings lacking emergency while 23 had emergency exits and 32 had fire extinguishers. Only one building was classified as high risk. Compliance was also high, with 27 buildings showing substantial compliance, seven partial, and just two non-compliant. District Korangi In Korangi, 183 buildings were audited, the highest among all districts. As many as 109 had approved layouts and 106 were built accordingly. However, gaps remained in safety equipment, with 95 buildings lacking emergency exits and 85 without fire extinguishers. The district had 38 high-risk buildings and 88 medium-risk ones. Despite this, Korangi led the city with 120 buildings showing substantial compliance, while 26 were partial and 37 non-compliant. District Malir Malir saw 41 buildings inspected. 25 had approved layouts and 24 were constructed as per plan. As many as 22 buildings had emergency exits, but only 16 had fire extinguishers. Eight buildings were rated high risk. In terms of compliance, 21 were substantially compliant, 14 partially compliant, and 6 non-compliant. District South District South presented mixed results from its 117 audited buildings. As many has 68 had approved layouts, but only 41 were built as per plan. Safety equipment was lacking, with 72 buildings without emergency exits and 62 without extinguishers. The district also had 65 high-risk buildings, the second highest after Central. Compliance was low, with only 18 buildings substantially compliant, 94 partially compliant, and five non-compliant. District West In district West, 49 buildings were checked. As many as 33 had approved layouts and were constructed accordingly, while 40 buildings had emergency exits and the same number had fire extinguishers, leaving nine buildings without each. Eleven buildings were rated high risk, 33 low risk and 5 medium risk. Compliance stood at 27 substantially compliant, six partially compliant and 16 non-compliant buildings. The data indicates that while some districts like Keamari and Korangi performed better on compliance, districts such as Central and South face serious gaps in both infrastructure and safety equipment that need urgent attention. Officials said that deviations from approved layouts often lead to blocked passages and inadequate compartmentalisation, which could hamper evacuation during an emergency. Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2026