Major fire at Secunderabad Club in Hyderabad, no casualties

As a major portion of the structure is made of wood, fire spread rapidly resulting in a huge property loss in the incident.
The Secunderabad Club building gutted in a massive fire. (Photo | Express)
The Secunderabad Club building gutted in a massive fire. (Photo | Express)

HYDERABAD: An early morning fire ravaged a major portion of the 144 year old iconic Secunderabad club. The fire had damaged sixty percent of the main building of the club, which also houses the offices of the Club President and other authorities. As many as seven fire tenders from different parts rushed to the spot located at Secunderabad abutting the Rajiv Rahadari highway and brought the fire under control. Though the fire was huge, it did not spread out of the structure and also to the Club’s fuel station located a few hundred meters from the affected structure. If the fire had spread to the fuel station, it could have resulted in a large-scale destruction, officials observed.

As a major portion of the structure is made of wood, fire spread rapidly resulting in a huge property loss in the incident. The bar located in the ground floor of the building also added to the loss. As the fire occurred in the early hours and there was no public movement in the area, a major mishap was averted, said fire officials. Area spread around 25,000 SQ FT was gutted in the incident, they said.

After operations on Saturday, the club was closed at 11pm, after which the clearing activity continued for sometime. Around 3am on Sunday, there were only security personnel and some kitchen staff working. The security personnel noticed fire in the structure and immediately alerted fire and police.

The staff who first saw the fire told officials that they saw fire descending from the top portion of the structure to the lower portions. Police and fire teams rushed to the spot and started fire control. Before the rescue teams arrived, the club staff tried to contain the fire using the fire extinguishers, but in vain, as the fire had engulfed the structure within a few minutes.

Chandana Deepti, DCP North Zone, Hyderabad city police told Express that the exact cause of fire is yet to be established, as the structure is badly damaged and is now in an unsafe condition to enter the area. Only the skeletal structure is left after the fire is controlled and that too can come down anytime. “ We are investigating various angles. Samples from the spot would also be forensic analysis. The property loss is also to be ascertained.”

Police are also verifying if the club has a fire safety mechanism and whether fire safety drills are conducted in the place on a regular basis.
R Raghuram Reddy, President, Secunderabad club said that as soon as the fire call was given, fire teams rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. “ It is very sad that the mishap had occurred. Right now, we can not say the value of the damage. Only after the architects and structural engineers visit the place and assess the damage, we will get a clarity on the damage,” he said.
The club has been functioning in compliance with the covid guidelines issued by the state Government. Several programs have been lined up for the festival season, but they were all canceled as per the Government instructions, Reddy said. Police along with fire and electricity departments are probing into the incident.

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