CHENNAI: An early morning fire at the house of a retired government chief medical officer in Adambakkam claimed the life of his wife and left three others in the house injured on Thursday.
The fire broke out around 4am on the first floor of a three-storey apartment on Second Main Road, Ramakrishna Nagar, where Dr M Anand Prathap (64), a retired CMO from Government Royapettah Hospital, lived with his wife Sashi Bala (58), son Rohith (23), and daughter Pooja (24), a medical student.
Police said the fire is suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the living room. Thick smoke quickly engulfed the flat, trapping the family inside. In a desperate attempt to escape, Prathap, his son, and daughter locked themselves inside the bathroom, while Sashi Bala collapsed near the entrance of the flat, overcome by smoke.
Hearing the family’s screams, neighbours alerted the fire and police departments. Fire department officials from Velachery broke open the bathroom ventilator to rescue the three survivors, who were rushed to Government Royapettah Hospital with burns. Sashi Bala was found dead inside the house, and her body was sent for postmortem.
The Adambakkam police have registered a case. Initial findings point to a fault in the electrical wiring as the source of the fire.
