Calcutta: The air-conditioned lounge at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali was completely damaged in a fire on Saturday. The fire broke out in the afternoon when renovation work was in progress.

“The fire broke out at about 1:30 pm when welding work was going on in the lounge. A spark triggered the fire and soon spread to the entire area which was being renovated,” PCA chief executive Brigadier (retd) G. S. Sandhu said. He, however, said there was no major loss.

A life-size photograph of former India captain Kapil Dev, placed just beneath the lounge, escaped the blaze.

“The extent of loss is being assessed. There has been no loss of life or injury to any personnel. PCA authorities are confident that the renovation/repair work will be completed and will not affect the upcoming IPL tournament matches in any way,” PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra said in a press release.

The fire “will not have any adverse effect on the training of Punjab team. PCA Club and other activities are functioning as normal,” he added.

The fire spread quickly as plywood, meant to be used for the renovation, was kept on the same floor. Four fire tenders from Mohali and three from adjoining Chandigarh took less than an hour to arrest the blaze.