Man charred to death in Pattan blaze; 2 houses damaged

Baramulla, Jan 22: In a devastating fire incident, a man lost his life in Khambiyar village of Pattan in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday night.

Two residential houses were also destroyed in the incident.

The deceased has been identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, son of Muhammad Ramzan Dar of Khambiyar village.

An official said that the fire erupted at around 2 am on Sunday, originating from one of the houses and quickly spreading to an adjacent house, resulting in the complete damage of two residential houses belonging to Muhammad Ramzan Dar and Muhammad Asadullah.

Despite the swift response of locals, who attempted to douse the flames, the intensity of the fire proved overwhelming.

The delay in the arrival of fire tenders from Pattan exacerbated the situation, resulting in the tragic incident.

According to eyewitnesses, the locals made frenetic calls to the Fire and Emergency Service Department in Pattan, but the fire tenders did not arrive in time, contributing to the damage.

Aijaz Ahmad, a local said, "We tried our best to control the fire, but it was fierce. The delay in the arrival of fire tenders was unfortunate and it caused massive loss.”

The charred body of Adil Ahmad Dar was recovered from his razed house.

The intensity of the fire had left the body charred beyond recognition.

SDPO Pattan, Muhammad Nawaz, who was on the spot monitoring the situation, said that the strenuous efforts of the locals and Police could not save Adil's life

“Preliminary investigations point to a short circuit as the likely cause of the fire,” he said and appealed to the people to exercise extreme caution when using electric blankets and other electrical devices.

Over the delayed response of the Fire and Emergency Service Department, the SDPO Pattan assured a thorough investigation into the matter.

“A comprehensive inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident. Besides the allegations of the late arrival of fire tenders too will be investigated,” he said.