The following was printed in the DawnNews Newsletter:

Diary of a Journalist
Fire at PNSC

In most regular jobs, after you work hard for eight hours, you pack your desk, empty your mind and go home. When you work in the news business, and the day’s work is done, you go out and get some more.

I was walking out of the studio on Sunday 19th August 2007 after anchoring for a full shift, when I was told to go back in. The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation or PNSC building in Karachi was on fire. As news teams rushed to the spot, I presented live on the fire for an additional four hours straight. The fire was out of control, threatening to overtake all of the fifteen floors of the building. Some members of staff present inside the building were stranded on the roof. They were later rescued by a Pakistan Navy helicopter. The fire kept going, so did our news coverage, and with it my spirit. This was the second time the building had caught fire, exactly 6 months after the first time and once again on a Sunday. The mysterious inferno at the PNSC building needed more attention. After I handed over to the next anchor, it was time to see what was going on myself.

The fire was raging on as I got to the site. Reporters from DawnNews and all other news channels had set up their stations and were giving constant live updates. About 21 fire brigades and 100 firefighters were at work to douse the flames. With our reporters present on the ground doing a commendable job, I looked around for additional value. Haider the cameraman and I headed closer to the building. The area was in a state of a mini-flood as the fire engines had been throwing water for hours. Wading through the water we managed to get closer than others. We recorded some updates but I was not satisfied. That’s when I spotted one of Karachi’s newer acquisitions: the one hundred and forty five feet tall snorkel. It was time to do something really different.

Earlier in the studio I had spoken to the City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal. He had informed me that even though the building fell under the KPT jurisdiction, the City Government’s Chief Fire Officer Ehtashamuddin himself was on the ground overlooking and helping the operation. Using this bit of information, I went up to the fire fighters and asked to see the Chief. But it became apparent that the Chief would rather avoid me. After a number of attempts, I managed to have a word with him. I asked him if I could go up on the snorkel. Needless to say, he was taken aback and uncertain at the request. Finally, after using every possible reason I could think of, I managed to convince the Chief to go on the snorkel.

We climbed on to the snorkel platform, about five feet by five feet, with nothing but a single railing marking the edge. A fireman stood on one side to operate the snorkel machinery. The noise from the fire engines was deafening. I had to shout to make sure the cameraman could hear what I was saying. With the mike in one hand, I grabbed onto the railing tightly with the other as the snorkel started to unfold with all the jerkiness of a broken amusement ride. Higher in the air, and closer to the building, the air was filled with soot. The heat coming from the blaze was intense. But with all this came the clear view of the scene inside the building. Desks, chairs, cabinets, papers, baskets, were all on fire. Nothing had been spared. The operator communicated with the controller below, and the snorkel started throwing a jet of water into the fire.

It was time to do what we had climbed the snorkel for; Time to capture some exclusive visuals and report the latest. Haider took the position, and I held up the mike, and then shouting into the camera I told the viewers that we were standing in the snorkel engaged in dousing the flames threatening to gut the PNSC building. The water in the air combined with the ashes and burnt paper spewing out of the building to become a fine paste on our faces. Suddenly as I spoke into the camera, the snorkel jerked, I lost my balance but my hand on the railing prevented injury. I went on reporting, while Haider zoomed into the building to show the viewers the reality after the fire. We stayed in the air until the snorkel ran out of water. The operator then attempted to speak to the controller below. No reply. By now our eyes started watering and it was difficult to see. We were unsure how long we will have to stay hovering far above the ground. Finally we felt the jerk, and like a camel ride on sea-view gone wrong, the snorkel folded back, bringing us back on the ground.

Our exclusive was done, and we were appreciated. Much after the noise of the engines had died down and the roar of the fire had quieted, I could still be heard shouting on top of my lungs into the camera. DawnNews had saved my snorkel moment to be repeated till much later as one of the many momentous minutes of reporting at DawnNews.