Lucknow: Panic gripped residents and shopkeepers of a multi-storey building on Kursi Road when a fire broke out in an electric vehicle showroom located at the ground floor of the building.The building houses a branch of a govt bank on the upper ground floor, while residential apartments occupy the floors above.The incident came to light when a shopkeeper noticed a smoke billowing from the premises at around 1:22am and immediately alerted the authorities.A firefighting team from the Indiranagar Fire Station rushed to the spot within minutes.However, the team encountered severe challenges as dense smoke engulfed the basement area, reducing visibility and raising fears of the fire spreading to upper floors.Using hose reels, firefighters launched an aggressive operation to douse the flames, while forced ventilation was carried out by breaking open doors to release the suffocating smoke. After nearly an hour-long effort, the fire was brought under control.“Nine electric scooters were completely gutted in the blaze. However, the timely intervention of the fire department helped salvage 14 scooters and one motorcycle, preventing further losses,” said CFO, Lucknow, Ankush Mittal.Firemen said that prima facie it appeared that short circuit inside the showroom led to fire.Residents were safely evacuated as a precaution, and no injuries or casualties were reported.
