Srinagar, Feb 29: In a shocking incident, a house owner died due to the burn injuries after a massive fire broke out in a house in the Jamalata area of Nawakadal, Srinagar, on Thursday evening.
Eyewitnesses reported that a massive fire erupted in the residential area, spreading quickly to nearby houses. Within a short span, it engulfed three houses.
Local residents immediately sprang into action upon noticing the flames and were soon joined by firefighters. However, by the time the fire was brought under control, three houses had been gutted, resulting in property losses worth lakhs of rupees.
This marks the second fire incident in the last 24 hours in Srinagar city. On Wednesday, three houses were gutted in the Hawal area of the city, resulting in significant property damage.
The frequent fire incidents in the Srinagar Valley have raised concerns among the people, as such occurrences are being reported on a daily basis. However, officials from the fire and emergency department attribute these incidents to people’s negligence.
An official from the fire and emergency department told Rising Kashmir that the house owner, along with his wife and daughter, was trapped inside the house when the fire broke out. Soon after they reached the spot, they entered the house and saved the mother and daughter, while the house owner recovered in an unconscious state and was immediately moved to SMSH Hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The officer further stated that upon receiving the distress call, they rushed to the spot and made every effort to extinguish the fire. After strenuous efforts, they were able to bring the fire under control.
The deceased house owner was identified as Bashir Ahmad Banday, son of Mohammad Yousuf Banday, a resident of Jamalata.
“We are currently investigating the cause of the fire, but at the moment, we have been unable to determine the reason for the incident.”
Srinagar admin reaches out to fire victims of Hawal
Immediate assistance under Red Cross provided to affected families
On the directions of Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat, a team of District Administration, Srinagar on Thursday visited Hawal area in Eidgah Tehsil of the District where four residential houses engulfed in a fire incident here on Wednesday evening.
The team assessed the damages caused due to the fire incident and expressed sympathy with the affected families on loss of property.
On the occasion, an immediate assistance in the form of blankets, mattresses, bed sheets and kitchen sets, besides some funds were provided to the fire affected families as an interim relief out of the District Red Cross Fund.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar has appealed to the general public to follow all precautionary measures while using electric/electronic gadgets, LPG cylinders and other appliances being used for heating and cooking purposes to avoid such fire incidents.
He stated that people often leave their gadgets unattended, which leads to many of these fire incidents.
