Pune: A minor fire in the chimney of Modern Cafe's kitchen on Jangli Maharaj Road spread panic among customers, who had gathered for Sunday lunch.
The patrons and employees immediately ran out of the Shivajinagar-based restaurant. The Pune fire brigade rushed to the spot and doused the fire within 10 minutes before it could spread.
"The firemen and our employees removed all the gas cylinders from the kitchen to avert a major tragedy. No one was injured in the incident. Restaurant activity resumed soon after," said the manager of the restaurant.
Fire officer Ravindra Adhav said the control room was alerted at 1pm. "Our fire tender and a water tanker were immediately dispatched to the spot," Adhav said.
When the firemen checked the kitchen, they found that the chimney had caught fire. Adhav said the firemen had a tough time putting out the blaze as a bag of chilli near the chimney too had caught fire. "The firemen were getting hiccups due to the smoke emanating from the chillies," he said. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Public toilet destroyed
A public toilet near Pimpri Chowk was destroyed in a fire on Sunday morning. No one was injured. The public toilet was installed by the civic body. Some passers-by noticed the fire and called for the fire brigade.
