on Tuesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati
A fire broke out in the vending zone located between Rajmahal Square and Kalpana Square off the fire station, gutting most of the shops on the stretch on Tuesday morning.
More than 25 fruit shops located in the area were destroyed before fire tenders could reach the spot, barely a 100 metres from the fire station. Short circuit is suspected to be the reason behind the incident.
A trader said that as it was the last Tuesday of the month, all their shops were closed, and that was why the fire could not be spotted immediately.
The plastic crates and foam baskets used for keeping fruits caught fire, which spread quickly. Local residents complained that though the fire brigade office was located nearby, the fire tenders took much time to reach the spot.
"Nothing of this kind had happened to us since we set up business here. We used to keep our shops closed once a month. As luck would have it, it happened on the day of the closure," said Ganesh Sahu, a trader.
The shopkeepers, who stay nearby, rushed to the area on hearing the news, but by that time, the damage had been done. Besides, in the beginning only one fire tender reached the spot to douse the flames. "Had they acted quickly, we would have suffered less damage," said another trader.
Assistant fire officer Ramesh Chandra Majhi said their team from Kalpana Fire Station rushed to the spot immediately. Three fire tenders were sent to the spot to douse the fire, he said.
"Our team reached the spot on time. Had they got to know about the fire a little bit earlier, it would have been stopped easily. Besides, there was a lot of inflammable substances that helped the fire spread," said Majhi.
However, he could not provide any estimate of the property gutted by the fire. "We will assess the situation again," said the fire officer.
A fire official said that as summer had arrived people should remain alert about such mishaps. They should take proper precaution while stacking the inflammable articles. Besides, people must be alert while using electrical appliances as well, he said.
