A major fire was today averted at the headquarters of the Southern Railway here after fire fighters swiftly doused a blaze that gutted a room on the second floor of the heritage structure.
"A suspected electrical fault triggered a blaze in a 10 x 20 cabin in a corner of the 3,000 sq ft hall on the second floor," Station Officer, Fire and Rescue Services, M Ganesan, who led the fire fighters in the operation, said.
By 3.30 am, the fire was noticed and reported to Fire Control room. Within a few minutes the first fire tender reached the spot from nearby Esplanade Station followed by four others from other fire stations, he said.
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"Some files, a fan, two computers and a chair besides electrical wiring were damaged," he said, adding, the entire operation was over in 45 minutes.
The fire might have spread to other rooms since a wooden plank on the window of the cabin extended to the next room.
"We noticed it and fully doused the fire on this plank. If that had not been done quickly it might have posed difficulties and perhaps more damage as it extended to nearby room," he said.
A major fire broke out in the more than a century-old heritage building, housing State Bank of India here, last month, resulting in the collapse of a portion of it, but no one was injured.
