Srinagar- Four families were rendered homeless after their joint 3-storey house was gutted in a major fire at Bantokhar Mohalla Hazari Bazar Rainawari Srinagar last night, locals and officials said on Saturday.
Locals said that soon after the fire erupted in the house, people called fire and emergency department. The fire tenders reached the spot immediately and contained the flames from spreading further. However, they said, by the time the fire was doused off, the ‘huge’ house was completed gutted.
Four families of Fayaz Ahmad Shah, Nazir Ahmad Shah, Ghulam Rasool Shah and Noor Mohammad Shah were putting up in the house and they lost “everything” in the devastating fire, the cause of which not known immediately.
“The fire started at 12:30 a.m and we lost everything,” Ghulam Rasool Shah said. “Four families were putting up in the house. We have no means of sustenance and support.”
Locals said that fire erupted from the first story and soon engulfed the entire building.
An official of the fire and emergency department said that timely action prevented the fire from spread in the congested locality. He said there was no loss of life or injury in the incident. A police official said that cause of fire is being investigated.
It is pertinent to mention that there has been an increase in the fire incidents in the year 2022.
According to official data, atleast ten people were killed while 660 fire incidents were reported in Kashmir Valley in the first three months of the ongoing year 2022.
Data provided by the Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) department revealed that property worth Rs 3572.26 lakh and belongings worth over Rs 31306.38 lakh was damaged in these incidents.
There has been a sharp increase in the fire incidents in the city. In Kashmir Valley, the highest number of fire incidents have been reported in Srinagar where in the first three months of 2022 the Fire & Emergency Department received 143 fire calls, with damage to property worth Rs 1704.58 lakh and belongings worth Rs 20374.94 lakh caused.
Among major fire incidents in the city, a massive fire broke-out in Bone and Joint (B&J) hospital in Barzulla on 4th March,2022 which caused massive damage to the hospital infrastructure and forced patients to flee.
On 30th March, 2022, at least nine shops and a residential house were damaged in twin fire incidents at Gadyar area of Zaina Kadal and Rajouri Kadal areas of the city.
The year 2022 saw an increase in the fire incidents in the City Lakes as well. On 4th April, 2022 fire erupted at Nigeen Lake which raised seven houseboats to rubble.
In 2021,Kashmir reported over 2000 incidents of fire reducing nearly two thousand houses and commercial buildings to ashes, besides causing a whopping loss of over 70 Crore to the people in the Valley.
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