Recently, Tricity has faced a massive distortion. A gigantic fire that started late last night at Rehri market in Sector 9 Panchkula destroyed over 100 shops, inflicting crores of rupees in damage. If reports were to be believed, then 13 firefighters worked for six hours to put out the blaze. Three firefighters from Chandigarh and one from Zirakpur were called in addition to the nine fire tenders from Panchkula.
According to Tarsem Singh, a fire station officer, they received a call at 11:13 p.m. and dispatched the first fire tender right away.
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The fire started in either a bike repair shop or an electronics shop. Asked how it spread to 148 shops, the officer said, “The fire spread from the roof. The firefighters were controlling the blaze inside the shop, but were unaware that combustible material was placed on the rooftop of one of the shops. Hence, it spread to the whole market in no time.”
The officer said the cause of the fire is being ascertained. “We are meeting shop owners in this regard,” he added.
In a video message shared from abroad, Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta assured financial assistance to all victims. “I have given directions to the administration to provide financial assistance to the affected shopkeepers. It is very unfortunate, but we will try to provide every support,” Gupta said.
Meanwhile, a couple of months ago, four shops were gutted in a fire at the Sector 7 market late at night. The fire, which began around 2 a.m., damaged the ceilings of nearby shops as well.
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