Over 40 shops were destroyed and goods worth lakhs of rupees were damaged in a major fire at Unit-I market in Bhubaneswar early on Tuesday, police said. The fire broke out around 1.30 am and over 13 fire tenders and 80 personnel took hours to douse the inferno, police said, adding no casualty has been reported so far. Chief Fire Officer Ramesh Chandra Majhi said it was difficult to control the fire as the shops were located close to each other and there was no space for the movement of men and material.
Two people sleeping in a shop escape unhurt
Another fire officer said that two persons were sleeping in a shop at the time of the incident but they managed to escape unhurt.
Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das said that the fire spread rapidly as the shops were made up of plastic materials. She further added that many shops are erected in a small area in the haat, leading to frequent fire incidents.
70 firefighters were deployed to extinguish fire
The fire department faced a tough challenge in controlling the inferno. Thirteen fire tenders rushed to the spot, and around 70 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the flames. Ten officers were also present at the scene to monitor the situation. After strenuous efforts, the fire was brought under control in about three hours.
The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed. Fortunately, there were no reports of any casualties in the incident. However, the shopkeepers suffered significant financial losses. Following the incident, security has been tightened in the area, and an assessment of the damage is underway. The administration is conducting further investigations.
With inputs from Shubham Kumar
