Hyderabad: A major fire broke out in a timber depot of Maruti Enterprises at Bakaram near Musheerabad early on Monday.
The depot was gutted. People panicked in the area and ran out of their homes at 3 am. There were no casualties.
The fire, suspected to be sparked by an electrical short circuit, spread to residential buildings nearby and many window panes cracked due to the high intensity of the flames.
Some houses that shared the boundary with the depot, were also damaged.
People used water and other non-inflammable material to put off the fire till the fire engine arrived. They said that the damage could have been reduced if the fire engines arrived on time.
The watchman at the timber depot, Hanumanthu and his family who live in the depot, were alerted by neighbours and rushed out.
Their pet dog died in the accident as it could not be unchained on time. The depot owner G. Laxman was missing.
Fire personnel battled for over nine hours to douse the fire. Seven fire engines from Secunderabad, Malakpet, Malkajgiri, Secretariat, Gowliguda, Assembly and Musheerabad and one snorkel from Secunderabad were rushed to the spot.
The depot is located behind Hakil Shah Masjid on the Musheerabad main road, Circle 9, Bholakpur division.
The depot is surrounded by three timber depots, two apartments and homes. The loss was estimated to be between Rs 15-20 lakh.
fire damaged the complete load of timber stored in the godown, which is estimated to be worth Rs 15-20 lakh. All the debris and the gutted material was cleared by the GHMC.
The Executive Engineer, P Veera Pratap informed, “We have been clearing off the burnt debris from the spot. We have to inspect the material and then decide on what has to be done with the material. There are also cracks on the walls of a few houses which might just collapse. We have to also examine if we should demolish them.”
However residents and locals allege that they had made calls to the Fire Control Room immediately, whereas the fire tenders reached almost two hours late.
The nearest fire station was just half-a-kilometer away. “I called the fire control room at about 3:30 am, whereas the first tender reached only at 5:10 am. After several calls also there was no response and then we had rush to the Gowliguda fire station. And only then around eight fire tenders reached from different fire station. The whole colony was out in panic and everybody were taking their own measures to set off the fire,” informed Naveen CH, a resident of the colony and also the owners of the land of the timber depot.
Whereas T Mahender Reddy, District Fire Officer, Central zone informed that the first fire call was received at 4:55 am and the first vehicle from Secunderabad was turned out at 4:56 am.
“It took us more than eight hours to put off the fire since there was continuous smoke erupting, hindering clearing of the debris operation. The shutters were closed when we reached and there were eight vehicles in the next ten minutes. We responded immediately. The only glitch was that the fire tender at Musheerabad is now being stalled at the fire station near the Salar Jung fire station, as the fire station at Musheerabad is under construction. So, we had to send the vehicle from Secunderabad, which reached in less than fifteen minutes after the call. People always blame us.”
A fire accident case has been booked at the Musheerabad Police station.
“We are suspecting the cause of fire to be because of a short circuit. We are still investigating the case. Also, the property loss could be worth Rs 15-20 lakh. We have referred it to the fire officials as well for their opinion,” informed G Shyamsunder, Inspector, Musheerabad Police Station.
Next: Neighbours bear brunt of mishap
Neighbours bear brunt of mishap
Hyderabad: Three buildings surrounding the timber depot faced the brunt of the damage. Valuables like TV?sets and computers were gutted in the mishap.
Ch. Pushpa, 64, who lives in a house beside the depot is not sure of what she will do till their house is rebuilt.
“My husband and his four brothers have been living here for 60 years. I have been living here for 40 years. The three rooms that share the wall with the timber depot are completely gutted. Our houses are really old and were built with a wooden roof that is so delicate now that it can collapse any minute,” she said.
GHMC officials who visited the site said that the timber depot had no permission. But, since the depot had been running for the past 60 years, nobody had ever objected to it.
GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar said that the civic body will ensure that no dangerous and hazardous industries are situated in residential areas.
“One team from GHMC rushed to the fire accident spot in Mushe-erabad and ensured that there is no loss of human life. GHMC will conduct a survey of such industries located in areas where it is impossible to take vehicles during accidents and cancel all those trade licences. We will ensure that no trade licences are given in those areas,” Somesh Kumar added.
