Ranchi, March 24: A factory that churns out confectioneries for the popular Punjab Sweet House in the heart of Ranchi was engulfed in flames while two persons sustained burns in Irba as twin fires struck the state capital today.

Firefighters battled for close to four hours to douse the fire at a three-storied building at Pee Pee Compound, roughly a kilometre from Punjab Sweet House, in Hindpiri police station area.

Food items, raw ingredients, utensils and packaging material were reduced to ashes as fire broke out on the second floor and spread to other parts of the building around 11am.

As many as 70 workers of Punjab Sweet House were present in the building when the fire started.

Although the extent of damage to the restaurant management could not be assessed, sources said the owners might have incurred losses to the tune of more than Rs 50 lakh.

State fire officer Suresh Prasad, who led the firefighting team and reached the spot within half an hour of the mishap, said 15 fire tenders were pressed into service and “it took around four hours to bring the blaze under control”.

With clouds of smoke spreading to the ground and first floors, Prasad said it was difficult for the rescue personnel to enter the building.

“The building had grilled windows while the entrance was congested as large vats and other utensils had been dumped there. Besides, several cylinders inside the building also burst intermittently even as we were engaged in dousing the flames,” he said.

Prasad, however, was not able to explain how the building caught fire. “It is difficult to give any reason right now. We can identify it only after talking to those present in the building at the time of fire,” he said.

The workers, who were helping the rescue personnel, also refused comment. “Let everything get settled first,” a worker told The Telegraph.

In the other incident around 3.15pm, Vinod Kumar and Ekmal Ansari sustained injuries when a petty shop selling petrol, kerosene and oil in bottles caught fire at Irba in Ormanjhi police station area on the city’s outskirts.

Sources in the police said the two youths were admitted to Apollo Hospital and were out of danger. A motorcycle also caught fire in the mishap.

With the onset of summer, a number of fires have been reported from across the city. Earlier this week, an electrical short circuit led to a minor fire in a residential apartment at Dangra Toli.