A total of 11 shops in the Kotagiri Market were destroyed in fire and no injuries or fatalities were reported in the incident.
According to officials from the Fire and Rescue Services Department, they received information about the fire at around midnight. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and managed to put out the blaze in a couple of hours.
The fire and rescue services personnel combed through the buildings, most of which were temporary structures with tin sheets, to make sure that no one was trapped in any of the shops. They said that there were no injuries or deaths caused by the fire. The personnel said that eight fruit shops and three provision stores were gutted.
T. Immanuel, District Fire Officer, the Nilgiris, said the fire was brought under control due to the swift action of the fire and rescue services personnel. The personnel went to the area on Tuesday morning to cut a tree that had been burnt, and the branches of which were in danger of falling on pedestrians.
“The cause of the fire has been narrowed down to either being caused by a short circuit or by someone accidentally setting fire to a mound of garbage disposed behind the shops,” said Mr. Immanuel.
The department would also conduct a review of the fire safety standards in the market area in the coming days to ensure that steps were taken to prevent a recurrence of such a fire in future, officials said.