Midnight fire guts three residential-cum-commercial buildings at Rainawari Kralyar

Srinagar, March 01: A massive fire damaged three structures, including two three-storied residential-cum-commercial buildings and a single-storey bread-making shop during the intervening night at Kralyar area of Rainawari near VB College Srinagar.

A fire service official said that the State Fire Control Room, Batamaloo, received the alert, following which firefighters from Rainawari station rushed to the site.

Considering the congested locality, additional teams were deployed from Babdemb, Headquarters, Gowkadal, Syed Hameed Pora, Maharaj Gunj, Nowshahra, and Hazratbal. Fire personnel immediately launched an operation to prevent the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings, he said.

Damage assessment revealed that the first three-storied building’s roof and upper floors were extensively damaged, affecting a steel trunk shop and an electric shop. The second building suffered severe damage to the roof and upper floors, while lower floors sustained water-related losses impacting a grocery (kiryana) shop and vegetable outlets. The single-storey bread-making shop and a scooty were completely destroyed, he added.

The blaze was brought under control after several hours of firefighting, official said.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of ADGP Fire and Emergency Services Alok Kumar, with on-ground monitoring by Deputy Director F&ES Command Srinagar Dr. Mir Aqib Hussain and Mobilizing Officer Aijaz Ahmad Shah, official said. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and no casualties were reported. — (KNC)