3 families rendered homeless in Chamba fire

Chamba, April 12

Families of three brothers were rendered homeless after a fire engulfed a 32-room house at Rundal village in Churah subdivision of Chamba district on Friday.

All the belongings in the house were also reduced to ashes. The fire broke out in the house belonging to Kedar Singh, Ramesh and Rakesh around 9:30 am, after an LPG cylinder caught fire.

There was a wedding at the house and breakfast was being readied when the fire broke out. Witnessing flames erupting from the cylinder, women present in the house rushed out in time before a blast set the house ablaze.

Villagers rushed to the scene and tried to douse the fire and alerted the administration.

Fire engines dispatched from the nearest fire station faced difficulty in reaching the site due to the narrow road. Firefighters tried to control the fire, but it spread rapidly due to the house being largely made of wood.

On receipt of information, the fire brigade and the administration’s team also reached the spot.

Churah Subdivisional Magistrate Shashi Pal Sharma said the Revenue Department team has also reached the spot to assess the loss, which may be in the lakhs. He said the affected families were provided with immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each by the administration, along with other relief material and essential items.