SLEEPWELL: Sikkim Factory engulfed in fire

25 Sep,Rangpo: A major fire was reported at Sheela Foam Industrial Unit of Bhagey Khola between Rangpo and Singtam, according to a source fire broke at 12:30 PM and was immediately informed to the Rangpo PS. After receiving the call Fire Tenders rushed to the site and put down the ravaged flames. The local residents of the place also put their effort to extinguish the fire meantime then fire tender escorted whole site under seize. As per the report no any casualties is informed as such from the fire, the major infrastructure of the industry is totally crippled due to fire. It is further told that nearby within a few hundred meters there is a LPG bottling unit and also a oil depot. It is estimated that if there was slight more delay in informing the police then the matter could have become more violent. However the bravery and immediate response of Police as well as alertness of residents ceased a big damage. Until the report was prepared no any conclusive information over how the fire was raged could be received, further report is waited.

An angler rescued from rising Teesta by Sikkim fire services

Gangtok, June 13 (PTI) An angler was stranded on a rock in the middle of swirling Teesta, following a sudden swell in its water, at Singtam in East Sikkim for over an hour after being rescued by fire services personnel.Police sources said Kumar Bardewa, a resident of Singtam, had waded in waters to clamber on the rock for fishing but with a sudden surge in water level got stranded.The surge was possibly caused by a large water release from NHPC Stage-V reservoir at Dikchu with high siltation deposited in the reservoir.With the river rising every minute, locals from Singtam Bazaar in East Skkim informed the local Fire Station as the fire services personnel managed to rescue the man with the help of ropes.

"The man was saved in the nick of time as the rock on which he was standing was submerged by the silt-laden waters of Teesta just as he was being pulled away from it," Deputy Chief Fire Officer Prakash Rai, who is also incharge of Gangtok, Rangpo and Singtam fire stations, said."The operation was a big success and the fire rescue team deserves all credit," Rai added.

Namchi Fire causes loss to property

Namchi: 11th May: A major fire incident happened in Namchi causing loss to property of around Rs. 70,000/- to Rs. 80,000. The incident was reported telephonically to the Fire Service Officer, Namchi, South Sikkim at around 4 PM on 11th May. Acting upon the information the fire tending team led by Mr. Indra Kumar Rai rushed to the spot at Raj Gram which is in the outskirts of the main Namchi town towards Bhanjyang Road. Two fire brigade vehicles took around 30 minutes to reach the spot and after reaching the spot also the team had to face some problems in reaching the main place of incident as it was below 500 feet from road level.

After reaching the spot the team lost no time and started their operation and it took another 30 minutes to bring it under control. By the time it was extinguished major portion of the wood that was stored in that room was already burnt causing a loss to the owner Mr. Pradeep Yonjon of about Rs. 70,000/- to Rs. 80,000/-. However the team was able to save timber of approximately worth Rs 20,000/- . The owner of the premises ,Mr. Pradeep Yonjon was not at home during the time of incident.

In the preliminary investigation the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, as there was no one at the premise the chances of short circuit is also almost nil and the chances of it being done by miscreants is also very far fetched. Hence the chances are seen that it may have been started accidentally, where the wood may have come in contact with a fire source accidentally as has been informed by the Fire Service Officer, Namchi Mr Indra Kumar Rai .

District Collector, South and Superintendent of Police, South also visited the spot for inspection

Five shops gutted down in Geyzing

GEYZING, October 21: The efficiency of Sikkim Fire Services was horribly exposed for the second time in one week as five shops cum residential building was razed to the ground by a fire in Nayabazaar area of Geyzing town in West Sikkim today morning.
The fire is said to have been triggered by a short-circuit at the house of Chewang Dorjee Bhutia at around 4:40 am in the morning and soon the fire spread rapidly devouring five shops rented out in the house destroying properties worth lakhs of rupees.
The house owner has claimed damages worth Rs. 2 lakhs while shopkeeper Chota Lal Prasad had to bear damages over Rs. 15 lakhs as his entire grocery items like potatoes and stationeries items were burnt down by the fire. Three other shopkeepers Chime Bhutia, Gaganath, Uma Sankar Prasad and Md Alam saw their shops razed to the ground by the fire.
The news of the fire had been immediately notified to the local cops who then alerted the fire station which is bit far from the town area. By the time the fire personnel arrived at the spot, much damage had been already done and nothing much could be saved due to lack of sufficient water available with the firemen.
The general public has demanded that the fire station should be relocated within the town area so as to have quicker response in future.
This is the second time that such an incident has been reported in Sikkim. Recently, a midnight inferno on October 13 had gutted down five shops in Rangpo and the State Fire Services department had received much flak from the people

Sikkim CM visits Rangpo fire incident site

RANGPO, October 21: The Chief Minister Pawan Chamling visited the recent fire incident area on October 17 and assured the victims full support from the government like providing loan on subsidised rate if they want for the construction of their structure, that were gutted down.
On October 13, a major fire broke out at Rangpo, gutting five shops to ground.
Mr. Chamling met five fire victims including Sajjan Kr Agarwal, Satyanarayan Prasad, Swaminath Prasad, Rajendra Mangla, Satyananda Prasad and P Johabal and also assured to give loan on subsidised rate if they want loan to construct the structure.
On the same day, the State Commerce minister cum area MLA Niru Sewa also met with the fire victims at Rangpo and reassured to give full support from her side. She also provided 15 chairs and one water tank to Little Bell’s School and seven blankets to the fire victims of Rangpo

Inquiry into the Rangpo fire

Gangtok, Oct. 15: Five shops and a school were razed to the ground by a fire at Rangpo bazaar around midnight yesterday. The flames also charred five vehicles and destroyed property in the Sikkim-Bengal border town.

It took five hours for eight fire tenders from Rangpo, Singtam, Gangtok and Kalimpong to bring the flames that began at 11.30pm under control with the assistance of local people and police.

By that time, shops with wooden structures were burnt to ashes. They belonged to Sajan Agarwal, Satya Narayan Prasad, Swaminath Prasad, Rajendra Prasad and Satendra Prasad. The fire also destroyed Little Bells, a private school that teaches from the nursery level to Class VIII.

Fire brigade sources attributed the cause of the fire to electrical short circuit after preliminary investigation. Four nearby houses of Suman Tamang, V. Prasad, Chandra Maya Thatal and Swaminath Prasad were also partially damaged by the fire.

Sikkim’s commerce and industries minister Neeru Sewa, the local MLA who visited the spot after the incident, said she had assured the victims of support and compensation from the state government. “I have directed the block development officer of Duga to submit a report of the damage caused by the fire by this evening,” she said.

The minister asked the school authorities to start classes in the vacant space available in the area.

The victims have demanded a probe into the fire. Sources alleged that the shops-cum-residences of the five families were on rented premises and recently some misunderstanding had arisen between them and the owner.

The government has ordered an inquiry into the fire. Shops were closed in Rangpo today to show solidarity with those who have lost their property

The Fire in Rangpo destroy Houses and Vehicles

Rangpo,October14: A fire opposite Axis Bank broke out in border town of Sikkim Rangpo here in the mid-night hours on Tuesday, leaving almost five houses and as many vehicles destroyed in the incident. The fire broke out around late night hours in the  Rangpo area, disaster management officials said, adding the cause of fire is yet to be ascertained. The fire seems to have started from house belonging to Sadhan Agarwal as per local residents of area.

The fire broke out in one of the houses at around 10.30 pm yesterday and soon spread to neighbouring houses, causing cooking gas cylinder to burst, East Sikkim superintendent of police (SP) MS Tuli said. The cause of the fire was unknown, he said.

Six fire tenders were brought from Gangtok, Singtam and Namchi which brought the blaze under control by early morning today, Tuli said. No person was injured in the incident, he said.

The damage to the properties was being assessed, the police officer said.

Vehicle of Hydel Developer Set On Fire in Gangtok

Hunt for Van arsonists

Gangtok: The Sikkim police are hunting arsonists who set a Tavera Van bearing No. SK-02/8288 ablaze in the midnight hours around 11.35 pm on Saturday. The Vehicle reported to be owned by RamPrasad of Himgiri Hydro Energy Pvt.Ltd . The Van was half gutted by the blaze while being kept parked in front of Sonam House , development area of Gangtok.

And many local residents believe it could have been an attempt to create fear among hydel employees as they are involved into implementing Panan hydel project in Dzongu,Sikkim or it could be just handi-work of some anti social elements with no direct motive than just to cause arson. It is informed that attempt was made by dousing the ground around the vehicle with petrol than lighting it .A jerry-can with some petrol still inside have been recovered from the vicinity.

The leaping flames and thick smoke attracted the attention of people of locality who informed about it to Police immediately. One resident of development area said : "We could see this black smoke in the sky, so we went outside to see what was happening."

Development area Resident added: "damage was caused to the vehicle. The fire is being treated as suspicious, and Sikkim police are investigating. No arrests have been made although a case under Section 435 have been registered at Sadar Thana on written complaint of Pravin Kumar,project-in charge of Company". Police have seized the vehicle and Police sources informed that no major damage was caused to Vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to call or contact Sikkim Police by dialing 100.

CONGRATS TO SIKKIM FIRE FIGHTERS FOR A JOB WELL DONE !!

Khangri petrol pump Fire

ALERT FIRE FIGHTERS CONTROLS BIG FIRE IN 2HOURS

Gangtok: Alert fire fighters from Sikkim Police averted a major disaster here this evening when they battled with a blaze in a local petrol pump and brought it under control before it could reach the underground fuel tanks.
A one-storeyed building housing the billing counter and an office was razed to the ground, but the four tanks, with a combined capacity of 3,000 litre of petrol and diesel, and the fuel dispensers were spared.
There were no casualties.
The incident took place around 7pm at the Khangri petrol pump on NH 31A near Convoy Ground in Tadong. Traffic on the highway was stopped for over an hour and a half, the time it took to put out the fire.
People from nearby buildings were evacuated as the petroleum products and lubricants stocked in the office of the petrol pump went up in flames, sending huge balls of fire up in the sky.
“By the time we reached the spot, the fire was raging,” said K.B. Gurung, the assistant sub-inspector of the fire services. Gurung was on one of the two fire engines that arrived within minutes of being informed.
More fire engines from Singtam and Rangpo were called as standby. The fire fighters used foam to put out the blaze.
While investigations are on, it has been alleged that the fire started from an unattended gas stove used by the employees of the petrol pump for cooking. Some of the fire fighters present on the scene said the blaze spread further when a cooking gas cylinder kept inside the office exploded. Others spoke of a short circuit as the likely cause.
Senior police officials, including the director-general of police, C.M. Ravindran and the inspector-general of police (law and order), S.D. Negi, visited the spot this evening along with the district collector (East), Vishal Chauhan.
However there was little doubt that the pump had little or no fire safety measures. Superintendent of police (East) M.S. Tuli told Media after visiting the spot that the police would register a case against the proprietor of the petrol pump.

In Gangtok, fire at petrol pump creates a scare

A MAJOR TRAGEDY AVERTED

Gangtok: A massive fire that broke out at a petrol pump near Joy Bell School,Tadong sparked panic and a traffic jam in the area on Sunday Evening. No one was injured in the incident as the fire brigade personnel controlled the blaze within two hours, thus averting a major tragedy .The Sikkim fire brigade personnel controlled the blaze with help from army personnel with at least three fire brigade vehicles reaching the spot including from one from Singtam on way. Thick black smoke at the Khangari petrol pump on National Highway inTadong area was visible from a considerable distance.

The fire broke out at first at the servicing point of Khangri petrol pump at Upper Tadong, above convoy ground and it partially caught the adjoining building too. The servicing centre and office of the Khagri Petrol Pump gutted into ashes. There was every possibility of spreading the fire towards the petrol pump and could be a great disaster had the police personnel and fire fighters not swung into action in time. The petrol pump was narrowly escaped and averted by the hard and brave effort of the police personnel and fire fighters, otherwise the disaster could be beyond imagination .
The black smoke filled the sky of whole Tadong area. The petrol pump was only 25 to 30 feet in distance from the incident and everybody was afraid of catching the fire by petrol pump any time. Most of the people even evacuated their houses around the area and ran away from the scene by vehicle or on foot towards long distance. By the time the news reached to whole of Sikkim, many people gathered at the spot from in and around Gangtok in huge number and police had to make extra vigil to safeguard them making the security cordon and it was controlled by 9.30pm.

The Senior fire officer along with Gangtok fire brigade staff, headed by deputy station officer, rushed to the spot and Residents near Petrol Pump immediately contacted the fire brigade control room on finding that it was a major fire.Following the emergency call , The fire tenders and water tankers rushed to the petrol pump The large quantity of petrol said to be there at the pump when the fire broke out and a major portion of the fuel caught fire. The cause of fire is not yet known but There prevailed panic and chaos in the area especially in nearby houses and buildings . It is reported fire was not in main storage area of petrol pump.