BHUBANESWAR: Assets worth lakhs of rupees were gutted as a major fire broke out at a private coaching centre at Acharya Vihar, here on Tuesday morning.
Nobody was injured in the blaze which engulfed the second floor of a four-storey building where Disha Coaching Centre was functioning. Fire Officer Saroj Kumar Behera said fire personnel were informed about the incident by the coaching centre staff at around 7.45 am following which two fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
“When we reached the spot, smoke was billowing out of the coaching centre’s windows. Top floor of the building was used as residential apartments while offices and institutions were operating in the rest floors. We vacated the entire building. The fire personnel broke open the windows as it was not possible to enter the institute through the doors which were locked. It took 40 minutes to douse the flames completely,” Behera said.
Even as nobody was injured in the incident, property including furniture, electronic goods, official document and equipment were charred. Behera said an electric short circuit at a transformer near the building is suspected to have triggered the fire.
The Fire Officer said a probe has been initiated to ascertain the cause of the fire. The fire officials will check whether fire safety measures were in place at the building, he added.