At least nine huts were destroyed in a fire in Dooming Kuppam near Santhome on Sunday afternoon. No one was injured and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Police said the fire broke out from one of the huts in Bhavani Kuppam and spread quickly to other huts. Initial estimates have put the damage due to loss of property at about Rs.40,000.
According to personnel of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, the fire broke out at 1.15 p.m.
Fire tenders from Triplicane, Teynampet and Guindy were pressed into service. They battled for an hour to bring the flames under control. A few LPG gas cylinders are believed to have spurred the fire as several minor explosions were heard.
A case has been registered at the Pattinapakkam police station and investigations are on.
Several residents alleged that the fire tenders arrived only an hour after the alert was raised.
There were also instances of theft as some elements exploited the commotion , residents said. Margaret Nila said that most of the electronic items in her house were stolen. “My hut was not affected by the fire, but still I lost the few valuable items that I had.”
John Peter Soundarajan, whose hut was one of those that got gutted, said the government must swiftly convert all huts into multi-storey slum tenements to put an end to recurrent fires.
