A major fire which occurred on December 22 at Upper AG near the old Custom House reportedly has destroyed five commercial establishments and partially damaged two residential houses. However, no injuries were reported.

The blaze quickly spread to adjoining units, completely gutting two ration shops, a bakery, a tea hotel and a paan shop.

Fire and Emergency Services authorities stated that property worth approximately Rs 2 crore was destroyed in the incident, while timely intervention helped save assets valued at nearly Rs 3 crore by preventing the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.

An eyewitness reported that smoke was first noticed coming from the bakery around 8:50 am. Another witness said traffic congestion in the area delayed the arrival of fire tenders, which proved to be the biggest challenge in the initial stages of firefighting.

Firefighting operations carried out using water and foam, continued for nearly five hours before the blaze was brought under control. Properties destroyed included CGI sheet structures, Assam-type houses, machinery, cold storage units, refrigerators, groceries, household items and clothing.

Personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services, assisted by Assam Rifles, were involved in the firefighting operation.

Authorities said an investigation has been initiated to determine the exact cause of the fire, though a short circuit in the bakery is suspected to be the primary cause.

Talking to Nagaland Tribune, Yamir Ali, owner of a hotel operating in the building, said he had been running the establishment for just two months.

“I was making puri when the fire suddenly started. Smoke came from downstairs and covered my shop. When I went down, I saw the bakery was on fire,” he said.

Ali managed to remove four gas cylinders from his shop, preventing a bigger disaster. However, he could not re-enter the premises to save other belongings. “I had sold beef worth ₹80,000 and kept the cash inside the shop. That money is also burnt,” he added.

He estimated his losses at around ₹2 lakh in cash and ₹2 lakh in property.

Sushil Kaur, manager of Square Bakery, stated that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit due to excessive load.

“I had an order at ISBT at around 7 am. When I returned to the bakery around 8:50 am and went inside, a sound came from the meter box. When I touched the CGI sheet, I got electric shock,” he said.

He further explained that sparks were visible in the wiring, which soon ignited the CGI sheets.

“We immediately asked all staff to move out. Two staff members also got electric shock while trying to escape,” Kaur said.

Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play

Kaur claimed that the bakery had repeatedly complained to the electricity department about the meter being unable to handle the load.

“Earlier, we had three meters, but they were removed and replaced with a single meter. The meter box was changed two to three times and burnt multiple times. Even after installing a three-phase meter, the load was still too much,” he added.

Kaur said that despite having three fire extinguishers, the staff failed to control the blaze. The estimated loss to the bakery and surrounding property is around ₹1.55 crore.

Manoj Shah and Savita Devi, owners of grocery shop and a ration store in the same building, said they lost everything in the fire.

“The fire started from downstairs. Smoke engulfed the shop, and we had to run out immediately,” they said.

Both their godown and ration shop were completely destroyed.

“We could not take out anything. Property worth around ₹30 lakh has been lost, and cash of nearly ₹20 lakh was burnt,” they added.

Fire department officials and Assam Rifles reached the spot and brought the fire under control after significant effort.