50-year-old building gutted

Hubballi: As many as 12 shops in a 50-year-old building, ‘Syed Manzil', were gutted in a fire here on Friday night. Though the fire was doused, the building is likely to collapse at any time. Police have banned entry to the building. Shopkeepers said that the fire broke out after a short circuit occurred in a synthetic shop located on the ground floor. "We took out our valuables from the shop with the help of some passers-by, and our loss was reduced to the maximum extent," they shared. Fire & emergency personnel said that there was no casualty since it happened when shops were about to shut. "We deployed 5 firefighters and 40 staff. After a 6-hour operation, the fire was controlled," they added. Town police said that since the building is in a pathetic condition and is expected to collapse at any time, entry of the public is banned to the building.