Fire razes Ekra hut at Lumsey, bush-fire singes Chandmari

GANGTOK: A one-room Ekra structure was razed to the ground Friday morning here at Upper Lumsey, 5th Mile, Tadong. While the hut could not be saved, the tireless efforts and quick action of the neighbours ensured that the fire did not to spread neighbouring houses.
The Gangtok Fire Station received a call at around 9:20 AM regarding the fire, but arrived at the spot to find that the locals had prevented it from spreading.

Unfortunately, the fire has already razed the house and all the belongings of Keshav Chettri by then.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Prakash Rai, informs that the fire could have been dangerous for the neighbouring houses and credited the vigilant and quick response of the locals for averting such a calamity.
Another fire was reported in Gangtok today, this one at a forest stretch in Chandmari above the Shiv Mandir. This was brought under control in time by a joint team of Fire Services and Forest personnel assisted by the area residents.
It is suspected that this fire was started by sparks from a power line which runs through the area. This suspicion borne out by the discovery of four dead foxes below an electricity post in the area.
The DCFO further informs that in last two weeks, fire stations around the state have been working tirelessly to battle large and small forest fires.
Over the last two weeks, fire stations in Gangtok have responded to 6 forest fires, Singtam 2 forest fires, Jorethang 4 forest fires, Pakyong 2 forest fires, Geyzing reported 2 forest fires, Rangpo 6 and Namchi one.