HYDERABAD: A raging pre-dawn fire devoured a major portion of the 144-year-old iconic Secunderabad Club here on Sunday. The fire reduced 60 per cent of club’s main building, which also houses the offices of the club president and other functionaries, to ashes.
As many as seven fire tenders from different parts of the city rushed to the club in flames in Secunderabad abutting the Rajiv Rahadari highway and brought the blaze under control after battling with leaping flames for hours.
Though the fire was huge, it did not spread out of the building and to the club’s fuel station, located just a few hundred metres from the affected part. If the fire had spread to the fuel station, the damage would have been extensive, officials said.
As a major portion of the building was made of wood, the fire spread rapidly resulting in a huge property loss. The bar located in the ground floor of the building added fuel to the fire. As the fire occurred in the early hours and there was no movement of people, a major mishap has been averted, said fire officials. Area spread around 25,000 sq ft was gutted in the incident, they added.
After serving members on Saturday, the club closed at 11 pm, after which the clearing up work continued for sometime. Around 3 am on Sunday, there were only security personnel and some kitchen staff on the premises. It was the security personnel who first noticed the fire and immediately alerted the police and fire departments.
The staff who first saw the fire told officials that it spread from top portion to the lower parts of the building. Police and fire teams, who rushed to the spot, began battling with the rogue flames. Before the fire tenders arrived, the club
staff tried to contain the blaze using the fire extinguishers, but to no avail as the fire was huge, which by then engulfed the building. Chandana Deepti, DCP North Zone, Hyderabad City Police told Express that the exact cause of fire is yet to be established as the building was badly damaged and is now in an unsafe condition to enter. Only the skeletal structure is left after the fire was brought under control and it can collapse anytime.
“We are investigating various angles. Samples from the spot would also be sent for forensic analysis. The property loss is also yet to be ascertained,” he added. Police are also verifying if the club has a fire safety mechanism and whether fire safety drills were conducted at the place on a regular basis.
Club president R Raghuram Reddy said that as soon as the Fire Department was called in, they came rushing to the spot and brought the situation under control. “It is very sad that the mishap of this scale had occurred. Right now, we cannot assess the damage in monetary terms. Only after the architects and structural engineers visit the place and assess the damage, we will get a clear idea on the damage,” he said.
“The club has been functioning in compliance with the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the State government. Several programmes have been lined up for the festival season, but they were all cancelled as per the government instructions,” he added.
Along with police, fire and electricity departments are also probing the incident. Meanwhile, it was informed that the club will remain closed for members till further notice.
Damage could have been extensive
The fire reduced 60 per cent of the club’s main building, which also houses the offices of club president and other functionaries, to ashes. Though the fire was huge, it did not spread out of the building and also to the club’s fuel station, located just a few hundred metres from the affected part. If the fire had spread to the fuel station, the damage would have been extensive, a club official said
Fire spread from top portion
The staff who first saw the fire told officials that it spread from top portion to the lower parts of the building. Police and fire teams began battling with the rogue flames. Before the fire tenders arrived, the club staff tried to contain the fire using the fire extinguishers, but to no avail