Hyderabad’s Gulzar Houz building fire likely started due to short circuit in pearl shop

It spread to air-conditioner resulting in the explosion of the compressor

Hyderabad: The fire at the building at Gulzar Houz is suspected to have started following a short circuit in the wiring in the display cabinet in the pearl shop. It then spread to the air-conditioner resulting in the explosion of the compressor and rapidly spreading in the building.

The fire officials who interacted with the four workers, who were in the building at the time of the incident, said one of the workers first noticed smoke and alerted the owner.

A few of the family members then came down from the first floor of the building where they reside and tried to put off the fire. “For roughly 45 minutes, the family tried to put off the fire on their own without alerting anyone. Around 6 am, two women came out of the building on the road and sought help from local people,” said the official.

Around the same time, the other family members who were standing in the corridor on the first floor retreated into the rooms. “They did not expect the fire to spread rapidly. Expecting the fire will be brought under control and to avoid the smoke, they huddled into the rooms on the first floor,” said the official.

Unfortunately, after the fire spread rapidly and fire personnel who reached the place could take any strong measures due to thick smoke billowing out of the building.

There were 23 people in the building when the smoke was detected.