Chennai: A massive fire originated from the basement and gutted a two-storeyed furniture manufacturing unit in Pammal in Pallavaram, on Friday morning. Firefighters with four fire tenders battled for two hours to control the flames.
Though none was injured, goods and valuables worth Rs 2 crore were gutted.
Company owner, Gowtham Singh, who lives in the same locality, said that the unit had 30 employees working when the fire broke out.
According to sources, around 12 pm on Friday, smoke suddenly started emanating from the company’s basement. Workers immediately evacuated the premises.
Gowtham and his employees tried to put off the fire with fire extinguishers, but within seconds, the flames reached the next floor of the building. They then informed the police and the fire department.
Two firefighters from Guindy, one from Tambaram and another from Tambaram fire training station, were pressed into service.
“Primary investigations showed that the fire originated due to a short circuit in the building basement. All workers were safely evacuated, sources said. The entire building was damaged and goods destroyed.
The exact loss has not been arrived at yet. Shankar Nagar police registered a case and investigations are on.
