Massive fire in Itahari ravages four buildings

ITAHARI: A massive fire tore through Ghana Bazaar at Paruhang intersection in Itahari Sub Metropolitan City-4 of Sunsari district destroying four houses and inflicting a loss of around Rs 10 million last night.

Locals blame the high amount of loss to delay in the arrival of fire engines. The fire broke out from an electric short circuit in a shop at around midnight. 11 gas cylinders exploded in the process which aggravated the already deteriorating scenario.

The locals had called a fire engine stationed just 500 metres from the incident site, however, it did not arrive on time. Fire engines from Inaruwa Municipality located 18 km away also took time to reach the incident site causing loss of such a large scale, local resident Padam Adhikari said.

The fire ripped through the shops and residences of Padam Adhikari, Bal Kumar Rai, Bideshi Kumar Shrestha and Man Kumari Rai. Refrigerators, clothes, food commodities and crockery among other materials were destroyed in the fire.

The fire also caused partial damages to two four-story buildings belonging to Laldhan Rai and Mohan Singh Tamang. Laldhan alone incurred a loss of Rs 400,000.

Adhikari incurred the highest amount of loss due to the fire estimated at Rs 4.5 million. Adhikari has blamed the nearby fire engines for not heeding to their call for help.

The blaze was finally taken under control by the fire engines dispatched form Inaruwa and Itahari, local residents and the police force. The arrival of the fire engines, albeit late, helped to tame the fire and prevent it from spreading further and causing more damages.