SHILLONG: A devastating fire broke out at Barapathar in Shillong on Tuesday afternoon, reducing to ashes seven wooden houses, in less than a month’s time of the massive fire which had erupted at Mawbah.
SP (City) Vivek Syiem said the incident happened at around 11.30 when fire engulfed the two-storied wooden house of Sachin Thapa. No one was inside the house. The fire spread quickly to adjoining wooden houses, engulfing these, rendering families homeless.
According to Syiem, there was no loss of life but the loss of property was huge. The extent of the damage was being assessed. The cause of the fire was not yet known.
Police have instituted an inquiry to find out the cause of the fire and if there was any foul play.
Unlike on previous occasions when MeECL and fire tenders had taken more than 25 minutes to arrive on the spot, this time the fire tenders and MeECl reached the spot a little early. Their timely arrival saved many houses nearby, though it could have been even faster. More than seven fire brigades were sent to the spot and it took them some time to douse the fire.
It may be mentioned that this was the third instance of a fire at Mawbah (Barapathar) in the past one month. Because of the repeated incidents of fire, many residents say the government should open a fire station somewhere near Jhalupara or Barapathar.
An official of the Meghalaya State Fire and Emergency Services said that people must take preventive steps to avoid such fires. She said there were multiple reasons for incidents of fire. Asked about the late arrival of fire engines, the official on the request of anonymity said that the fire department was trying to put its best foot forward but the vehicles were stuck in traffic jams and they had to be cleared out even as the official claimed that the response time was about four minutes.
The official also said that people had a misconception of calling 108 but people at first should call up 101.
“People often shout ‘fire’ but they should immediately call us instead,” the official said. It may be mentioned that more than 12 shops and many houses were gutted on March 11 when a massive fire broke out in the same area at Barapat