Fire razes two houses near Rey Khola

SUBASH RAI
GANGTOK, 26 May: Two double storied ekra houses belonging to Rudra Maya Sunar were razed to the ground by a fire that broke out at around 2 a.m. this morning near Reykhola here.
There were seven occupants inside the house, all of them, including three guests with a toddler, managed to escape the inferno unhurt. The houses were however reduced to cinder. The only solace that the family can take away from this mishap, apart from no one being hurt, is that they managed to stop the fire spreading to a two-storeyed house attached to the row of houses.
The family was asleep when the fire broke out and by the time they were alerted to it, they only had enough time to flee before the flames reached them. Nothing from the two houses could be salvaged.
By the time the neighbours, reached the spot at around 3 a.m., the first house, from where the fire broke out, was almost burned to the ground.

“When I reached here, my first priority was to ensure safety of the family members and I found that all of them were safe,” said a relieved neighbour.
The elder son, Naren, who resides around half-a-kilometer downhill from his parent’s home said, “When I reached here, it was around 3 a.m. I found the first house razed to the ground and some portions of our ancestral house already gutted.”
He further informed that the first priority was to save the two other houses, among which one was a kitchen and the other a two storied RCC structure. They succeeded and by 4.30 in the morning, the fire was doused.
They didn’t call in the fire brigade, because it was already too late and also because the location is inaccessible for fire tenders. Also, by the time the fire brigades reached the spot, all the four houses would have been razed to the ground. Hence, the people fought the blaze themselves.
“We lost everything including official documents, cash, gold ornaments, around 17 sacks of paddy, TV sets, utensils, clothes etc.” said a shocked Naren.
The two oxen in the cattle shed had suffered severe burns on their bodies and veterinary officials had started treatment. The rescue team was lucky enough that the LPG cylinder did not explode. It was empty.
The first official to reach the spot was SDM [Gangtok], Dr. AB Karki, who arrived at around at 8 am after getting information from the local Panchayat. He was followed by the area MLA, Menlom Lepcha and BDO Ranka, Urbashi Poudyal.
Speaking to NOW!, Dr. Karki said that ex-gratia assistance will be disbursed to the victims immediately by the BDO.