Shimla: Over 40 houses gutted in village fire, leaves families homeless

Over 40 houses were gutted in a fire that broke out at Kaishani village of Shimla district in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

The fire spread fast and engulfed a large number of heavily timbered old houses with traditional wood carving. Villagers ran out of their homes in panic as the blaze swept.

The villagers fought the flames and stopped the fire from spreading to a cluster of about 150 houses. However, around 35 to 40 houses were completely gutted by the time the fire engines from Rohroo and Kotkhai arrived at the spot.

The locals helped in dousing the fire by the time fire tenders reached the spot. SDM Ghanshyam Sharma said fire tenders were also rushed from Kotkhai and the fire was contained by daybreak.

No casualty has been reported so far, according to sources.

The blaze, suspected to have started in a wooden house, gradually engulfed adjoining houses, majority of which were also made of wood, reports said.

Babu Ram Sharma, the sub-divisional magistrate of Rohroo said, "50 families rendered homeless by the fire have been provided immediate relief of Rs. 10,000, temporary shelter, clothes and ration."

Amit Kashyap, the Deputy Commissioner of Shimla, who reached the spot, said relief camps have been set up and a community kitchen has been started for victims and all possible assistance was being given.

This is the second incident of fire within two days in Himachal Pradesh.Yesterday, a two-storied building caught fire at Chaupal village in Shimla.