A three-storey commercial complex in the Uma Nagar locality of the busy old city went up in fire in the early hours of August 28 when fire broke out in one of the several businesses being run in the complex.
While the fire broke out between 3.30 a.m. and 4 a.m., there was no casualty or injury reported till 10 a.m. Anantapur Urban MLA Anantha Venkatarami Reddy and local corporator rushed to the spot and ensured all coordination was done properly with the Municipal Corporation officials.
The Fire Department got a call at 4 a.m. and immediately rushed with three fire tenders available in the city and vacated all the residential and commercial properties adjacent to it.
An LPG cylinder exploded in the kitchen of the ground floor hotel and fuelled the fire. The Fire personnel could, however, take out six other cylinders from the complex reducing the danger of further blasts, the District Fire Officer V. Sreenivas Reddy told The Hindu.
A fourth fire tender was requisitioned from Dharmavaram and 40 fire personnel under the guidance of the DFO, Assistant District Fire Officer N. Aswatha and Dharmavaram Senior Fire Officer Raju could successfully douse the flames by 10 a.m.
“We have begun clearing the place to ensure there were no more inflammable goods inside the complex, which houses a godown, a hotel, and shops,” said Mr. Sreenivas.
All patients from the Amma Hospital, opposite the commercial complex, were evacuated to rule out any possibility of fire spreading to the hospital.
The cause of fire was being investigated and the extent of loss being estimated.
