A fire in the third floor (godown) of a shop, Kuku Duppatah House, in Sarnimal market in Paltan Bazaar Wednesday evening caused destruction amounting to lakhs of rupees. The fire is suspected to have been triggered by an electrical short circuit.
“The fire was extinguished after about an hour of effort by the firemen and no casualty was reported,” said Dehradun Fire Station Officer Shiv Prasad Mamgai. The fire was put out before it could spread to neighbouring shops in the area. The shop owner had not procured No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department. Fire safety equipments were not placed in the shop, he added. Except a few, the shopkeepers of Paltan Bazaar have not procured NOC from the fire department. Mamgai said that the fire service was informed about the blaze at around 6. 10 pm.
A fire tender reached the spot within few minutes despite narrow street and traffic in the market area. Initially, the firemen faced difficulties due to the fire engulfing the top floor store. "Due to the alarming proportion of the fire, two additional fire tenders were deployed and fire was put off before it could spread to neighbouring shops. Had the shopkeeper applied to the Fire Department for NOC, effective fire fighting equipments would have been available there. The cost of the damage wreaked by the fire in the shop is yet to be estimated.The shopkeeper had never approached the department for NOC," he added.