Another showroom catches fire in fortnight

Barely a week after a garment showroom at Palamandap near Badambadi was reduced to ashes in a major fire, another blaze in Queen’s Collection in the heart of the city led to panic among the locals on Monday.

CUTTACK: Barely a week after a garment showroom at Palamandap near Badambadi was reduced to ashes in a major fire, another blaze in Queen’s Collection in the heart of the city led to panic among the locals on Monday.

The fire started in the showroom at Metro Arched at Choudhury Bazaar around 12 noon when the electric panel board installed near the building’s entrance started burning. Short circuit or overload is being suspected to be the reason. The employees of the showroom immediately alerted fire brigade and swung into action to control the flames with sand.

Assistant Fire Officer, Cuttack, Pradip Kumar Rout said the fire was controlled by the showroom’s staff by the time fire fighting team reached the spot, averting a major mishap. We doused the flames completely, the fire officer added. “The electric panel board was completely gutted. Plumes of smoke had spread throughout the building. To release the smoke, fire personnel had to break some glass panels of the showroom to facilitate ventilation and release the smoke, Rout added.

Though no loss of property has been reported, a probe into mishap will be initiated and necessary legal action taken if any lapses are found, fire service departmental sources said.On February 4, a major fire in City Style had razed the showroom. As many 21 fire fighting teams and around 150 fire services personnel took more than 5 hours to douse the blaze.

Scrap godown reduced to ashes

Cuttack: A scrap godown and three thatched houses were reduced to ashes at Neema Sahi in the city on Monday night. The mishap occurred at about 8.30 pm when some locals noticed the fire at Noor Mohammad’s scrap godown and altered other residents and the fire brigade. The intensity of the blaze was so high that it soon spread to three thatched houses belonging to one SK. Naim, said Assistant Fire Officer, Cuttack, Pradip Kumar Rout. Later, two fire fighting teams from Buxi Bazaar and CDA rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control after more than 2 hours.