13 huts gutted in Chennai's Dooming Kuppam

Thirteen huts were destroyed in a fire early on Saturday morning at Dooming Kuppam here. 
People searching for their belongings after the fire that broke out in a residential area in Dooming Kuppam was doused on Saturday (Photo| Aiswarya CV/EPS)
People searching for their belongings after the fire that broke out in a residential area in Dooming Kuppam was doused on Saturday (Photo| Aiswarya CV/EPS)

CHENNAI: Thirteen huts were destroyed in a fire early on Saturday morning at Dooming Kuppam here. 
A fire and rescue services team led by officer E Mohammed Ayub said,”

We received a call around 4 am and immediately three fire tenders from Triplicane, Teynampet and Mylapore rushed to the spot and doused the fire. It took about an hour-and-a-half to put out the flames. No casualty was reported. A senior police officer said they suspect that the fire was due to the bursting of a transformer close to a hut. However, probe is on, he said.

“It was around 3.45 am when we heard some rattling sound. In minutes, the fire spread,” said M Anitha, whose entire hut was gutted. Of the 23 huts of fishermen, 13 were gutted. Luckily, 11 families whose huts were damaged were sleeping on the shore due to power cut. “Only two families with babies were sleeping in the huts nearby. On noticing the flames, a few residents from the beach ran to their rescue. In the meantime, the occupants of the huts managed to escape.”

“For the last two days, we had power cuts at night. So, most of the families slept on the shore which is hardly 700 metres away from our huts. We tried to call the fire control unit, but it took half an hour to get through,” said another resident. 

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