A fire broke out at the Road Transport Authority office in Khairatabad on Wednesday morning.
Officials said the fire, which broke out on the first floor, was reported around 10 a.m. after which fire tenders from secretariat, Legislative Assembly and Secunderabad were rushed to the spot. It took about three-and-a-half hours to contain the fire. A large number of files stored on the floor were destroyed. There were no casualties nor injuries.
Firemen said while the RTA officials claimed that the cause of fire was a short-circuit, they were investigating the matter. An official, who did not wish to be identified, said “It is unclear to us as to what caused the fire. We are looking into it.”
Since the structure is a G+1 structure, fire officials said fire safety measures were not the same as those of multi-storied buildings. They also pointed out that the structure, which was a heritage building, was weak. However, they said fire extinguishers were required to be put in place in the building, which were not seen.
Incidentally, a smaller fire broke out on the same building on January 22 on the ground floor. The fire destroyed a large number of files.
Meanwhile, Telangana Auto-motor Vehicle Welfare Association general secretary M. Dayanand said he suspects foul play.
