CHENNAI: A fire broke out in a furniture shop at Gerugambakkam near Porur on Saturday, destroying goods and reducing to ashes 20 adjacent huts as the flames spread from the shop.
Locals said the fire was noticed in the furniture showroom-cum-godown around 10 am, after which the Fire and Rescue Services was alerted. Before the firefighters could control the fire, it quickly spread to the huts next to the shop.
After nearly five hours of struggle with the help of six fire-tenders, the firemen brought the blaze under control around 3 pm. Nearly 20 hut-dwellers were left homeless because of the blaze.
The reason for the fire is still not clear, said a fireman.
During the early hours of the operation, a fireman was injured as the water cannon slipped and hit him. He suffered severe injury on his mouth and had lost a few teeth, said the fireman.
The police resorted to a mild lathicharge as a large number of motorists stopped at the spot to watch the operation.
Alandur constituency MLA V N P Venkatraman visited the hut-dwellers and distributed ` 5,000 in cash and other essential materials to the affected families.