Manali: Two houses, including a three-storeyed wooden mansion, were razed in a raging inferno at Bahu village of Banjar subdivision in Kullu on Thursday night. While no loss of life was reported, a cow was burnt alive.
The blaze has left seven families shelterless in this bone chilling cold. One of the houses destroyed in fire had 16 rooms, and the other three. The fire even damaged some houses in the vicinity but was controlled before it caused more damage. Timely action by villagers and fire personnel saved entire village from more destruction.
"The operation to douse the fire continued all the night. We had received a fire call at 10.30pm, and the blaze was declared controlled at 7am on Friday," Larji fire station in-charge Karam Chand said.
Sources said the road to Bahu village is narrow and it took one hour for fire tenders to reach the spot. Officials suspect electric short circuit as the trigger behind the fire.
As the fires continue to bring down wooden houses in Kullu, which are built in typical old architectural style, villages are especially vulnerable since the locals continue the old practice of storing fodder under the same roof. Increased electricity load due to use of room heaters in winter months and short circuit in old wiring is the root cause of fire in most such incidents.
