Fire leaves four families homeless

CUTTACK: Tragedy struck four families in Dagarpara area here when they lost their houses to a raging fire on Monday morning. About 10 rooms in two rows were gutted along with motorcycles and valuables. No one has been seriously hurt in the incident.According to reports, the fire broke out in the house of Kartik Ranjan Jena at Gopalsahi under the Dagarpara locality. Jena’s wife was reportedly cooking on a kerosene stove when it exploded. As she ran out of the house, the flames fell on the plastic pipe of a gas stove nearby. The main supply switch of the cylinder was on. The pipe caught fire, which spread to the cylinder and resulted in a loud explosion.The fire then went out of control and engulfed all the 10 single room houses in the two-row cluster. The houses were all thatched which coupled with the dry weather in the morning aided the spread of the fire.Fire services were informed immediately and two vehicles were rushed to the spot. But by the time they arrived, the damage was done. The engines managed to douse the fire after an hour.According to locals, the families have lost everything in the fire. So severe was the fire that they did not get time to retrieve their valuables. Four motorcycles parked near the houses were damaged along with several bicycles.  The families have reported loss of cash to the tune of lakhs as the steel cupboards melted in the fire.Jena along with others were street vendors selling mixture and other snacks on pushcarts in the city.