A huge fire incident erupted in a clothes shop in Kandra town of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, raising panic in the region and causing extensive damage to the properties. The accident that took place during those early hours was almost a tragedy in the process since the family of the shop owner was caught on the top floor of the store. The family was saved just in time due to the swiftness of reactions and the courage of local people.
On suspicion of the locals, there is a sudden outbreak of fire in the shop that is situated on the ground floor of a two-storey residential-commercial building. There was a lot of smoke and fire that spread very fast, burning the goods for sale at the shop and endangering the upper store where the family was asleep. It is not yet certain what caused the fire, yet there are initial suspicions that there might have been a short circuit in some electrical component.
Helpless screams could be heard as the fire raged on. Neighbours drove to the place without previous delay. They helped the family members to escape windows and balconies using ladders, buckets of water and sheer courage. The eyewitnesses reported the scene as anarchy and great, but at the same time, the community took obvious action in response to the peril.
The fire was fiery and the smoke was choking. Children were screaming. It was important that we took immediate action and that is what we did as one of the neighbors who participated in the rescue explained. In just a few minutes, the four-member family was evacuated safely as some sections of the ceiling started collapsing because of the heat.
It was shortly after the emergency call when firefighters arrived at the scene. Although this action was taken immediately, the fire had swept through most of the contents of the shop which included a substantial number of clothes and furniture. More than one hour was spent by the fire brigade to put the fire under control and ensure that it does not spread to other buildings.
Early calculations indicate that the loss in money is in lakhs of rupees. It was also said that the shop was a great source of income to the family and its total lashing is a big blow. Rescue officers have moved the family to a family member living nearby on a temporary basis and are carrying on with the investigation and damage assessment work.
Locals visited the place and promised to give certain help to the family, which was affected. They also commended the residents who responded to their call rather swiftly and boldly and probably saved even a bigger tragedy.
This event has been raising the question about the existence of fire safety in buildings constructed in mixed-use communities, especially in small cities, such as Kandra. Most shops and households lack proper fire exits, alarms or extinguishers which would prove lethal under such situations.
Both residents and authorities demand that safety inspections be tightened and safety awareness programs increased to stop such incidents occurring in the future. The incident acts as a bold reminder of how flimsy life and livelihood can be and how community unity can be all the difference in critical times.
With the family recovering not only its life but also its economic losses, the surrounding neighborhood is still shocked but proud of the bold effort that was provided when it was needed the most.
