Fire engulfs Mini-Dubai Shoppee in Santa Cruz
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JULY 9
A fire, the cause of which is being probed, engulfed the Mini-Dubai Shoppee situated on the Santa Cruz-Bambolim road at Cabesa in the wee hours of Friday gutting food stuff and clothes to the tune of approximately Rs 20 lakh.
Cosmetic products, chocolates, clothes, mobile phones, food products, gifts and novelties were charred in the fire that broke out between 2 am and 2.30 am today. The proprietor Nelson Dias said at around 2.15 am a neighbour called to inform him about the fire after which he rushed to the spot.
Dias said for the last two days Santa Cruz has been witnessing power fluctuations. I have a feeling the fire may have been caused due to a short circuit, he stated.
Station Fire Officer H D Naik who took part in the fire fighting operation said they received information at 3.10 am. “During the operation the water was catching current so we had to call the lineman and shut off the power of the entire building.”
Secondly, Naik mentioned the shutter of the shop situated on the ground floor had been locked from inside. “On getting a call of fire we brought a fire tender and not the emergency vehicle that has a cutter. After the emergency vehicle arrived on the scene with the cutter we opened the shutter and retrieved whatever goods we could save from the flames, he mentioned.
The Station Fire Officer said they could not ascertain the cause of the fire but as known from the proprietor it seemed to be a short circuit. It took us nearly an hour to bring the fire under control, he informed.
The Director of Fire Services Ashok Menon also visited the scene after the fire fighting operation.