LAHORE: A woman and five children lost their lives in two incidents of house fires in the province on January 13.
In the first incident, three minor sisters lost their lives when a fire broke out in a room of their house in Layyah district, according to Rescue 1122.
The victims were identified as one-and-a-half-year-old Fatima, three-year-old Arooj Fatima, and seven-year-old Jaweria Batool, daughters of Samiullah of Basti Baseera in Karor Lal Esan tehsil. As per Rescue 1122, the children were asleep when the fire erupted and quickly engulfed the entire room.
On being informed of the incident, Rescue 1122 teams reached the spot and managed to extinguish the fire after nearly an hour-long efforts.
During the search of the debris, the rescuers retrieved the bodies of the three sisters and shifted them to local tehsil headquarters hospital for medico-legal procedures.
A Rescue 1122 official, on condition of anonymity, said the caller informed the emergency control room that a mentally challenged child had started the fire.
However, family members later said sparking in a high-tension power line passing over the roof of the room caused the blaze.
Police officials arriving at the scene completed legal formalities and handed over the bodies to the family.
Authorities concerned have begun an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
The incident highlighted the dangers posed by unsafe housing structures and exposed electricity wiring in rural areas.
In another incident occurring in Arifwala, two infants and their mother died, while their father suffered burns when their house caught fire because of gas leakage.
A Rescue 1122 team rushed to the spot and shifted the dead and injured to the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital. The deceased were identified as Safia, 26, Gulshan, 3 and one-year-old Fazilat.
Rescue personnel say that the fire erupted in a room while lighting a stove attached with a gas cylinder.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed deep sorrow and grief over the tragic loss of a mother and her two minor daughters in the fire incident.
She extended her heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family and directed the authorities concerned to ensure a strict ban on the sale and purchase of substandard gas cylinders to prevent such incidents in the future.
Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026.
