Fireman dies, chillies worth Rs 30 core burnt

KHAMMAM: A fireman lost his life while fighting a major fire that broke out in a cold storage unit at Madhira town in the district on Sunday, reducing chilli worth around Rs 30 crore to ashes. Officials said, Vasireddy Narasimha Rao (57), a fireman of Madhira fire station, was burnt alive when the wall of the cold storage unit collapsed on him while he was trying to douse the fire. Rao, a native of Venkatapuram in Madhira mandal, joined the fire services department in 1977. Blast of a gas cylinder is said to have led to the wall collapse. A fire tender of the Madhira fire station was also gutted.Till the last reports came in, eight fire tenders from Khammam and Krishna districts, and 12 rescue teams from Singareni were trying to bring the fire under control. Fire officials said it would take 10 to 12 hours more for them to douse the fire.Locals said, fire broke out from Chamber-B of Srilakshmi Vallabha Cold Storage following a short-circuit on Saturday late night. The staff, after noticing heavy smoke, informed the Madhira fire station.