12 shops gutted but timely action averts inferno

Kanpur: About a dozen shops were gutted in fire that broke out in Shiv Plaza close to Sagar market near Narohna crossing late Monday night. The plaza houses mobile phones and electronic goods shops. As per the locals, if the fire brigade personnel had not started the operation timely, the entire market would have been gutted in the fire. Chief fire officer Deepak Sharma said fire broke out in the basement of Shiv Plaza at around 1 am. “In no time, more than a dozen shops in the basement caught fire. As soon as the fire was reported, more than 15 fire tenders from Latouche Road, Colonelganj, Fazalganj and Kidwai Nagar fire stations reached the spot and launched a massive exercise to prevent the fire from spreading further. With robust efforts of about two hours, the fire in the basement shops was brought under control,” said the CFO.
The CFO added there were mobile phone and electronic goods shops in the basement of the market. The fire that broke out in the basement shop due to a short circuit engulfed all the adjacent shops.
“Timely action prevented the fire from spreading to other shops located on the ground floor and above,” said CFO and added, “In the preliminary investigation, it was found that the plaza is raised without following fire safety norms.” tnn