Fire razes shop near Lall Bazaar

GANGTOK, 15 Mar: A major disaster was averted here today when a fire in a closed shop near Lall Bazaar was doused in time. The shop is situated opposite the Lall Bazaar Shopping Complex.
Today being a Thursday, shops in and around the Lall Bazaar were closed for the day. It was only when neighbours saw smoke coming out from the shop in question, that they immediately alerted the Fire and Emergency Services.
Upon receiving the information, the Gangtok Fire Station crew rushed to the spot with one fire tender and one AFT and started the operations. The firemen brought the flames under control within 25 minutes and stopped the blaze from spreading further. The entire firefighting exercise however took longer and it was only after an hour that the fire was completely put out.
“We received the call at around 1 P.M. and immediately sent three Fire teams to douse the fire,” informed Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Prakash Rai, while speaking to the media later. The shop had old wiring which caught fire due to a short circuit, he said.
“Because we received the call in time the fire personnel were able to reach in time and douse the fire,” he said, adding that by the time the fire personnel arrived, local people were also doing their bit in putting out the fire.
“It is propitious that nothing major happened and there was no loss to life. The fire personnel have done a good job by responding immediately and putting out the fire in time,” commented SDPO [East], DSP Ongmu Bhutia, while speaking to the media.
The building belongs to Purna Bahadur Rai, while the shop which caught fire was being run by Nanda Kishore Prasad for the past 25-30 years. The shop was not occupied at the time and was being used as a godown. A room at the back was under renovation to be appointed as a sweets shop soon. A tailoring shop adjacent to the shop was lucky not to catch fire.
A desktop computer [the CPU was completely burnt], home theatre, gym equipment a wooden alimarh, important papers were some of the items lost in the fire. Sikkim Police personnel and neighbours also helped in the firefighting operation.