Fire at 2 Sector 17 showrooms, controlled within 90 minutes

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 6

A major fire broke out at two showrooms in Sector 17 here this afternoon.

The fire first broke out on the third floor of Touchstone, an IELTS preparation institute, destroying the classroom and office items. The fire than spread to the adjacent electronics shop where projector screens were kept.

A dozen vehicles of the fire and emergency department were pressed into service to control the fire. Prima facie, short circuit appeared to be the cause of the incident.

The fire department got a call about the mishap at 3.28 pm. The fire was brought under control in an hour and a half.

“Due to the curfew, the institute was closed. The damage would have been more otherwise. We used to see such fires due to short circuit during night hours. Since every establishment is shut, such incidents are being reported during the daytime too,” said a fire official.

“The way the fire and the police departments handled the incident is commendable. Many fire vehicles reached the site very quickly. Brave firemen took a lot of risk and doused the flames. For their quick action, a major tragedy was averted,” said Neeraj Bajaj, president, Business Promotion Council.

Fire officials said a major tragedy was averted as the flames were prevented from spreading to the adjacent showroom of ‘Poshak’. “Had the fire spread to the apparel showroom, the problem would have been aggravated. Clothes could have acted as fuel to fire. Besides, there would have been a major loss too,” said a fire official.

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