Firefighters Rescue 60 In Hotel Blaze

Hyderabad: Around 39 firefighters rescued seven staff and evacuated 53 others following a massive fire that broke out on the third floor of Metropolis Hotel, G+7 commercial building, Regimental Bazaar, Secunderabad, in the early hours of Saturday.

An emergency call came into the fire control room (FCR) at 5.07am. “After learning that the fire started from the kitchen of the restaurant on the third floor and spread to the adjoining dining area, we reached the building and took control. The staff was escorted from the exit,” said Y. Prabhakar Reddy, commander of the assembly fire station.

District fire officer Thagaram Venkanna led the operation and mobilized additional equipment, including a hydraulic platform vehicle and a Bronto Skylift from the Secretariat, water assistance vehicles from Gandhi Hospital police station, a snorkel device and a bowser from Secunderabad. “No one was injured. The restaurant’s sprinklers were activated, preventing the fire from spreading to the dining room and other stores,” he said.

The fire, which was suspected to be caused by a short circuit, was extinguished by three teams at around 06.15 in the morning. “Our firefighters faced intense heat but successfully prevented the flames from spreading to other floors and adjacent parts of the building, preventing a major disaster,” said one firefighter. DFO Hyderabad added that preliminary investigation showed that the fire was electrically caused.

G+7 complex hosts more than 29 stores. The extent of financial loss is being investigated.

In another incident, a fire broke out at Purani Haveli junction involving an electrical transformer and adjoining temporary roadside shops. Upon receiving the news at 7.05 am, fire crews from the Salar Jung Museum fire station rushed to the scene. A water tender from Moghalpura was also called to help. Fire Department PRO M. Karamatatullah Baig said, “We brought the fire under control within 45 minutes. Apart from material damage, there were no injuries.”

Shanmukha Rao, assistant district fire marshal, Salarjung Museum, Pennsylvania, supervised the operations. AIMIM corporate partners Syed Sohail Qadri (Patthergatti area) and Alamdaar Walajahi (Noor Khan Bazar) visited the facility and appreciated the quick response and effective firefighting.