Hyderabad: A major tragedy was averted, thanks to the presence of mind of locals, who took out six LPG cylinders from their neighbour’s house when fire broke out at an apartment in a commercial complex at Lad Bazar, Charminar.
The fire started on the balcony of Flat No. 303 in Mubarak Complex and spread to the other rooms, where property worth Rs 6 lakh, mostly laptops and gadgets, was gutted late on Wednesday night.
On noticing the fire, the locals, along with Sahil Akbar of Ghasi Bazaar, rushed to the scene.
"I first alerted the fire station and along with others entered the house. When the fire was being extinguished, we shifted six filled LPG cylinders to the ground floor safely.,” Sahil said.
The fire fighters said that it was with great difficulty that they could extend water pressure pipes into the narrow lanes to gain access into the building. “We increased the water pressure and extinguished the fire in time, otherwise dozens of shops and apartments would have caught fire,” a fire officer said. As per the preliminary investigation, the fire was caused by a short-circuit.
Gouse owner Mohammed Yousuf and his family had gone to attend a relative's marriage in Falaknuma when the incident happened, said Hussainialam police. “When my neighbour informed me about the fire in my balcony, I rushed home and found the house was gutted,” Yousuf said.
AIMIM Charminar candidate Mir Zulfiqar Ali rushed to the scene and appreciated the work done by the youth.
