Discarded cigarette sparks fire
Three fire engines rush to Kailasagiri hills to put out flames
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-04-22 05:26 GMT
Visakhapatnam: A carelessly discarded cigarette butt sparked a fire on the Kailasagiri hills in Vizag city on Tuesday that took hours for the firemen to douse. The fire personnel, who rushed to the spot as soon as they got the news, pressed into service three fire engines and managed to bring the flames under control before any widespread damage could be caused.
Vuda vice-chairman T. Baburao Naidu and others visited the spot. The spread of the fire was rapid as the twigs and branches of trees destroyed by Cyclone Hudhud have dried up and were still lying not cleared on the hill.
Fire incidents have been reported earlier at Simchachalam hills and Madhavadhara hills, where the green debris is spread all over. Reacting to confirmation by the firemen that it was indeed a cigarette that sparked off the fire, Mr Babu Rao Naidu said that he would take steps to ban smoking on Kailasagiri.
District fire officer J. Mohan Rao said, “We engaged three fire engines to control the blaze. A burning cigarette discarded by some unidentified persons might have caused the mishap. Now everything is under control. We are keeping extra vigil to combat fire incidents in the city.”