Birds, fish perish in fire at pet shop

Zirakpur, June 7

Scores of birds and fish perished in a fire at a pet shop in Zirakpur early this morning. A short-circuit in “Gold Aquarium, Pet Dogs and Birds” led to a major fire in which the shop was gutted around 3 am. Two fire engines were rushed to the spot, which took around an hour to douse the flames, but by then, the shop was completely gutted, said Zirakpur fire officials.

Eyewitnesses said there was massive sparking and explosions around the inverter inside the shop, which led to the fire. “Bird cages, toys, hand-made aquariums and other dry items were burnt. The loss is around Rs15 lakh,” said Sandeep, a co-owner of the shop.

Zirakpur Fire Officer Rajeev Kumar said, “We received a call at 3:02 am and sent two fire engines to the spot. Fish and birds were found dead in the fire. The shop owner said there were no pet dogs for sale in the shop at the time of the incident.” — TNS