Chennai: Properties worth lakhs lost in fire

Chennai: Nine thatched huts were gutted in a fire caused by an electrical short circuit at Ellaiamman Kovil Street in Nungambakkam on Wednesday night. Although no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident, properties worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes.

A 70-year-old woman who was stuck inside one of the houses hid inside a trunk to protect herself from the fire.

She was rescued and is undergoing treatment at a Government hospital in the city.

According to the sources, the City Fire Service Unit received a call around 10 pm reporting a fire accident in the Ellaiamman Kovil Street locality dotted with nine thatched huts. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. After an hour of intense firefighting, the blaze was extinguished.

Fire officials said that the fire was caused as a result of an electrical short circuit. “An LPG cylinder in the hut might have exploded when the fire caught it. The blast aggravated the fire, which then spread to nearby thatched huts,” Sources said.

The police informed that no injuries were reported and that a 70-year-old woman who had got stuck in one of the houses was rescued safely. Nungambakkam police have registered a case and further investigation is on.