Puri: As the blaze at Laxmi Market complex in Odisha’s Puri town is yet to be fully extinguished, a team of Nagpur-based National Fire Service College (NFSC) was sent to the pilgrim town on Thursday to assist in the firefighting operation.
Even as firefighting was intensified, Odisha fire service personnel seem to be having a tough time to put out the fire that broke out at a market complex located at Marichikot Chhak in the pilgrim town on Wednesday evening.
Sources said the team of NFSC, Nagpur reached the site to assist the fire service personnel in controlling the fire, which is yet to be extinguished despite intensified operation.
The team of the Nagpur-based college was already in Bhubaneswar for a training programme at the Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy.
In order to utilise their expertise and skills, the team members were sent to Puri to assist in the operation, they said.
This apart, over 100 personnel of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been pressed into service and adequate fire tenders have been stationed.
It may be noted here that the fire broke out at a garment shop on the first floor of the market complex on Wednesday evening. The blaze spread to other shops in the complex.
As many as 12 fire tenders and 160 fire service have been pressed into service to douse the flames.
Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Home Tusharkanti Behera and Director General of Fire Service Santosh Kumar Upadhyay reached the spot and took stock of the situation.
Upadhyay claimed that 90 per cent of the blaze has already been brought under control and it will be doused completely after some time.
Some of the 40 shops at the shopping complex were gutted.
While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, police said they were suspecting an electrical short-circuit may have started the fire.
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