Minor fire at State Secretariat in Chennai

The fire broke out following a suspected short circuit in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department at Fort St. George, police sources said.

September 22, 2014 10:34 am | Updated September 23, 2014 03:00 am IST - Chennai

Smoke comes out of the windows of the Secretariat building at Fort St. George, as firemen engage in putting out a fire that broke out in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department on Monday morning. Photo: M. Srinath

Smoke comes out of the windows of the Secretariat building at Fort St. George, as firemen engage in putting out a fire that broke out in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department on Monday morning. Photo: M. Srinath

A fire broke out in a computer room on the first floor, housing the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, at Fort St. George on Monday. No one was injured.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) said smoke was first noticed in the room around 9 a.m. when the staff opened the door.

As the attempts to douse the fire failed, the Fire Department’s control room was alerted.

Nine fire tenders from the Fort, High Court, Triplicane, Mylapore, Teynampet, Kilpauk and other fire stations reached the spot. The men put out the fire by 10.30 a.m. after battling it for over an hour.

While books, files, furniture and false ceiling were destroyed, some documents kept in safe lockers remained intact.

A fault in the uninterrupted power system (UPS) could have triggered the fire, said a senior official.

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