Jagatsinghpur: In two separate incidents, four rooms and two shops were reduced to ashes in Jagatsinghpur and Angul districts in the last 24 hours.
In the first incident, fire engulfed four rooms of a family at Benapada under Naugaon Tehsil of Jagatsinghpur district in the wee hours of Monday. Many valuable items were reduced to ashes due to the mishap.
The fire engulfed four rooms before family members could take steps to extinguish the flames. Grocery items, key documents, electronics and household items were gutted.
While no exact reason was known immediately, the fire was attributed to a short-circuit inside the house. On being informed, fire tenders reached the village and doused the flames.
In another incident, two shops were gutted at Nuamauja market of Angul Sunday night. According to reports, a fire broke out in a snacks centre at the market at around 10.30 pm Sunday and later spread to the adjoining shop.
On being informed by the local residents about the incident, a team of fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the flames.
While no causality was reported, property worth thousands of rupees was destroyed in the inferno. Locals claimed that timely action by the fire personnel averted a major mishap.
Though the exact reason behind the mishap is yet to be ascertained, a short circuit is assumed to have caused the blaze. An investigation into the incident has been initiated.
PNN