Fire incidents reported on Diwali night from parts of Himachal, no casualty

However, damage to property was reported, officials said on Monday.Two rooms and a kitchen in the house belonging to Sunil Kumar, a resident of Banola village in Shimla district, were gutted in the fire that broke out on the intervening night of Sunday Diwali and Monday, but no casualty was reported.The fire started around 1 am on Monday when the grass adjoining the house caught fire and it spread to the building.

Isolated incidents of fire were reported from some parts of Himachal Pradesh on Diwali night but there was no casualty. However, damage to property was reported, officials said on Monday.

Two rooms and a kitchen in the house belonging to Sunil Kumar, a resident of Banola village in Shimla district, were gutted in the fire that broke out on the intervening night of Sunday (Diwali) and Monday, but no casualty was reported.

The fire started around 1 am on Monday when the grass adjoining the house caught fire and it spread to the building. However, the villagers doused the flames but around 4 or 5 am, the fire started again and engulfed Kumar's house, police said.

An immediate relief of Rs 20,000 was given to the affected family and the loss is estimated in lakhs, the officials said.

In another incident, a parked bus went up in flames in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Diwali night, with officials not ruling out firecrackers causing the incident at the local bus stand. No casualty was reported.

On receiving information about the fire, which broke out around 8.30 pm, a team of fire-fighters was rushed to the spot and it was brought under control in about 30 minutes, Fire Officer Rajendra Chaudhry said on Monday.

The cause of the fire in the private bus is yet to be ascertained but the possibility of firecrackers causing it cannot be ruled out, the officials said.

Reports of fire also came in from Kinnaur and Kullu districts.