Timely action by the firemen helped save equipment worth Rs. 1.50 crore at Annapurna Studios in Banjara Hills on Monday. A major fire that broke out in the studios on Monday afternoon was brought under control by the firemen. No one was injured in the mishap.
Sets were put up in a shed for shooting musical programmes — ‘Super Singer’ and ‘Dammu’ — on MAA TV and MAA Gold channels respectively. Soon after the flames engulfed the shed, two fire-tenders from Filmnagar and Sanathnagar fire stations rushed to the spot and carried out fire-fighting operations. While controlling the flames, fire-fighters with the help of studio staff shifted expensive cameras, lights and other production material to safety, said Filmnagar fire officer D. Mohan Rao.
Short-circuit
“We managed to save equipment worth over Rs.1.50 crore,” he said, adding that the shed collapsed completely due to the intensity of blaze. The firemen had to battle for almost three hours to bring the fire under control as the film sets were made with combustible material. Preliminary investigations by the fire officials revealed that electrical short-circuit could be one of the causes for the mishap.
“We are collecting more details from the studio management to find out the origin of fire,” Mr. Rao said. Super Singer is a music talent show, while Dammu is a youth-based game show.
Fire in restaurant
In a separate incident, fire broke out from a chimney of a restaurant at Ameerpet on Tuesday afternoon triggering panic among the staff and customers. Staff put out the flames by the time a fire-tender from Filmnagar rushed to the spot.
In yet another incident, dry grass caught fire in the forest area at Hayathnagar on the city suburbs on Monday afternoon. A fire-tender from Hayanthnagar station rushed to the spot after a receiving a call from the forest officials. “We had to struggle to enter the forest area as there was no proper road. With the help of hoses, we extinguished the flames within two hours,” said Hayathnagar fire officer Sarvar Khan.
