Twin fires spread panic in Tirupati

TIRUMALA/TIRUCHANOOR: It was a fiery day for people at Tirumala which saw two fire incidents gutting shops and spreading panic among devotees. However no casualties were reported in both incidents.Of the two the major fire broke out at a shopping complex near Rambhageecha guest house in Tirumala Monday afternoon. The fire, which broke out due to a short circuit in one shop, spread quickly and gutted a row of eight shops selling framed photos of deities. By the time the fire tenders arrived, all eight shops were gutted. The loss was estimated at `15 lakh.TTD DE (electrical) Ravi, who along with other engineering officials inspected the spot, confirmed short circuit as the reason for the fire. They said that as most of the photo frames were illuminated using LED bulbs, the heat generated could have melted a wire and caused the fire.The other fire occurred at the Padmavati temple in Tiruchanoor but apart from the panic it created, the loss was minimal. The fire, which  broke out in a ghee vessel being heated in the temple kitchen, spread up the chimney which was lined with oily soot. The flames that rose up the chimney were seen by people outside who panicked leading to a general chaos. The temple kitchen staff managed to put out the fire using extinguishers.