Major fire in Mailardevpally sees 50 escape unhurt

Hyderabad: About an hour after 17 members of a jeweller's family lost their lives in a massive blaze near Gulzar Houz in Old City, some eight kilometres away in Mailardevpally, around 50 residents, including 13 children, had a miraculous escape in a similar fire incident at a residential building. The people rescued by fire personnel include children as young as 15 months to 2 years.While the Gulzar Houz fire took place around 6am, the Mailardevpally incident occurred at 7.18am. The fire broke out in a G+3 floor plus penthouse structure, which houses 10-15 families, at Mughal Colony in Udamgadda. The blaze began due to an electrical short-circuit on the ground floor, which contained motor pumps, defunct bicycles, and various waste material, contributing to the flames.Officials said that had the fire occurred a couple of hours earlier while residents were asleep, it could have mirrored the Gulzar Houz occurrence. "Most occupants had just woken up and were preparing to start their daily activities. The blaze erupted within moments. As dense smoke began making its way upstairs, panicked residents rushed to the terrace. Fire service personnel successfully rescued them," said Md Rafi, assistant district fire officer, Chandrayangutta. The residents informed the fire brigade.Officials said that upon receiving an alert through the fire control room, firefighters from Chandrayangutta station reached the spot, and contained the fire within 90 minutes. In less than a week, occupants from two residential buildings — one in Mailardevpally and another in Begum Bazar on May 15 — survived serious fire incidents.