Chennai: As many as six huts were gutted by a fire that broke out at Manthoppu area in West Tambaram on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing the area with a thick cloud of dark fumes. Though neither any casualty nor any injuries were reported in the accident, properties worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes.
Police said the fire broke out from the house of one Murugan( 28) , a coolie worker and spread quickly to other huts.
The fire is said to have started from a heap of burning garbage in the locality. Initial estimates have put the damage due to loss of property at about Rs 4 lakh.
According to personnel of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, the fire broke out at 12: 30 pm on Wednesday afternoon and two Fire tenders from Tambaram Sanitorium and Chrompet fire stations were pressed into service. They battled for around one an half hour to bring the flames under control.
While people in the area say the fire from the burning garbage might have been a reason for the fire, investigations by the police also led to the same conclusion. Police said, since most of the occupants left to work on a working day afternoon, the accident thankfully did not cause any loss of lives.
However, due to the fire, the LPG cylinders on two huts exploded, causing panic.
A case has been registered at the Tambaram police station and investigations are on. It may be recalled, last month, more than twelve huts at the seaside end of Dooming Kuppam near Santhome were burnt down in a fire due to a short circuit in the area transformer.
