Computers and furniture belonging to a consultancy firm and documents kept in an advocate’s office were destroyed in a major fire that broke out in a commercial complex at Begumpet in the city in the early hours of Monday. There were however no casualties.
According to fire service personnel, the control room staff received a call at 5.11 am from an autorickshaw driver, Mujeeb, alerting them about the fire. Hyderabad district fire service officer B Sudhakar said the fire broke out on the third floor of the four-storeyed building located near Shoppers Stop. Minutes after the control room staff received information, five fire-tenders from Secunderabad, Moulali, Secretariat, Paradise and Sanatnagar were sent to the place to douse the fire. It took them more than two hours to control the fire.
“Computers, furniture and material in Sofran Consultancy situated on the third floor were reduced to ashes. And, so were documents kept in an advocate’s office on the fourth floor. By 7.30 am, the fire brigades controlled the flames,” the fire service officials said.
When Mujeeb was driving his auto towards Secunderabad, he saw flames leaping out of the building and telephoned the control room immediately from his mobile phone. “The mishap might have taken place due to short-circuit,” an official said. As the commercial building was located on the Begumpet-Secunderabad main road, the traffic on it came to a standstill for a couple of hours.
GHMC Special Drive against Violators
In the light of the fire accident at Pooja Edifice in Begumpet in the early hours of Monday, commissioner Somesh Kumar said the GHMC would launch a special drive in the next two months and take action against buildings which do not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire services department.