Fire in four illegal air cooler, furniture units in Hyderabad; none hurt

HYDERABAD: A major fire broke out in at least four illegal air-cooler and furniture units at Kushaiguda in the city late on Sunday. No casualties were reported in the fire, but raw material and property worth Rs 50 lakh have been gutted.

Fire officials said that the units have been functioning without any permission from the government and had no fire safety measures. He said that station fire officer Cherlapally V Shekar Reddy said the fire was doused by 2.45 am. The cause of fire is being probed into.

Locals alerted about fire in the makeshift units that are located in the land owned by Venkateshwara Temple in Kushaiguda. Fire teams rushed to the spot and started dousing the fire. As the fire had already spread to all the units in the area, more fire tenders were pressed into action.

Fire officials could not identify the cause of the fire, but said that the fire had spread rapidly to all units, due to the combustible material in the units. The raw material and grass used in the air coolers and the material in the furniture units, led to the rapid spread.

Earlier, the fire department had denied permission for selling crackers in the same place.