Five houses were gutted in a fire in Jubbal, in the Shimla district, rendering five families homeless late on Thursday night, fire department officials said on Friday. No casualties were reported in the incident.
According to available information, the fire first broke out in a house in Dhar village around 11pm on Thursday and later spread to other houses. It is believed to have been triggered by a cylinder explosion, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Villagers attempted to extinguish the fire themselves and alerted the fire department. The Jubbal fire station was notified at 11:20pm, following which four fire tenders from Kotkhai, Jubbal, and Rohru were rushed to the spot.
With their assistance, the fire was brought under control by 5am. However, by then, five houses had been completely gutted. Most of the belongings inside the homes were destroyed, resulting in losses amounting to lakhs of rupees. The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation has been initiated to determine the cause, police said.
SDM Gurmeet Negi said that the affected families have been provided with immediate relief of ₹20,000 each, along with blankets and rations.
{{/usCountry}}SDM Gurmeet Negi said that the affected families have been provided with immediate relief of ₹20,000 each, along with blankets and rations.
{{/usCountry}}Education minister Rohit Thakur, who is also the local MLA from the area, expressed sorrow over the incident and assured the affected families of all possible assistance.
Thakur said given the extent of the damage caused by the fire, every possible effort would be made to provide government assistance to the affected families.