2 fire incidents in Darjeeling

Darjeeling: A fire broke out at Kaijaley, located in the Pulbazar block of the Darjeeling sub-division area, on Friday. Many houses were gutted in the flames.

The fire broke out from one Pramila Rai's rented residence located on Lodhama Road at around 1:30 am on Friday. The fire quickly spread to the houses of Ram Bahadur Chhetri, Kumar Chhetri, Sanjiv Raj, Indra Kumar Roka and Yogesh Chhetri. All the houses were razed to the ground.

Fire engines were called in from Bijanbari. Local residents and firemen battled for several hours to control the raging flames. The cause of the fire is not yet known, stated a police official from the Pulbazar police station.

In another incident, the house of one Govind Pradhan, located at Sallabari, Chongtong was also gutted. The fire broke out at around 11:30 am on Friday. Engines were called in from Bijanbari. They stopped the fire from spreading.

Firemen stated that it could be an electric fire caused from a short circuit. "Local residents also pitched in along with fire personnel to contain it," stated Pradhan.