More than 10 workshops located on one side of a congested lane off West Perumal Maistry Street here were destroyed in a fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon.
Though the fire completely damaged the properties and some of the gas cylinders kept in the workshops went up in flames, the accident did not cause injuries to anyone. The fire was stopped from spreading to the thickly-populated residential area located closely behind the workshops owing to spirited effort by the locals and personnel from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services for more than two hours. The reason for the fire is not yet known.
The gutted workshops included those involved in car tinkering, glass materials, arc welding, a lithography printing press and six godowns stocking wooden materials. Two cars parked at the tinkering workshop were completely burnt while a few cars parked on the opposite side of the lane incurred minor damage.
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A. Anandan, the owner of the tinkering workshop, said most of the workshops in the lane remained closed since it was a Sunday. “A couple of them were open till lunch time. Hence, no one was around when the fire broke out. We were alerted by the locals,” he said.
Even before the fire brigade reached the spot, locals swung into action by pouring buckets of water on the fire. “However, the fire spread rapidly and no one could enter the lane,” said B. Samuel, a passerby who helped in the effort.
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Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao visited the spot even as the efforts to douse the fire by the fire brigade was in progress. He ensured that adequate number of fire fighting vehicles and water tankers were available at the spot. He was soon joined by Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri. Later, Minister for Cooperation ‘Sellur’ K. Raju also inspected the spot.
On compensating the shop owners, Mr. Rao said it was generally provided if there was damage to residential properties. “Since this is a special case, we need to analyse the possibilities,” he said.
Mr. Rao said he would also conduct a review with Corporation officials about the safety of such workshops operating in congested and thickly populated areas.