Goods worth tens of lakhs of rupees were gutted after a massive fire spread to engulf three cloth stores on the ground floor and a flat on the first floor at Sant Hirdaram Nagar in the state capital on Friday morning.

Fire officials confirmed that the fire, reported at around 5 AM, quickly spread to three fabric stores and a flat on the upper floors of the ill-fated building.

Preliminary enquiries have identified a short circuit as the primary cause. Goods worth Rs 75 lakhs were destroyed as a result of the fire, which took firemen around two hours to control.

A dozen fire tender vehicles—including six fire engines—were deployed to control the blaze, said fire officer Iftikhar Ahmed."Though the fire was brought under control in two hours, it took us another hour to completely douse the blaze and bring an end to the emanating smoke," he said.

The three-storey building has fabric stores on the ground floor and flats on the upper levels. While the first-floor flat suffered losses, the second-floor flat was lying vacant.The fire erupted at the cloth shop 'Mohini Textiles' and quickly spread to two other shops before rising upwards to engulf the flat, said bystanders.

Fortunately, no one was reported hurt, as the flats were locked at the time of the incident, they said. Goods worth lakhs were, however, gutted in the residential apartment.

Firemen said that the fire was regarded as the highest priority, as blazes in the area are always feared to spread out of control due to the presence of a large number of fabric stores in the busy marketplace.Fire service personnel experienced difficulties in bringing the flames under control, as the shutters at the shops were locked when the fire started.