VIJAYAWADA: A major mishap was averted as fire broke out at Sailaja theatre in Gandhinagar at about 7:30 am here Saturday.
As heavy smoke emanated from the theatre in the morning, passersby and neighbours alerted the theatre staff. Though smoke was billowing out of the theatre, no fire was visible. Shocked, theatre staff informed the police around 8:05 am.
“A short circuit in the electric wires above the false ceiling of the theatre caused heavy smoke. We broke open the roof and located the short circuit point,” explained Vijayawada fire station officer B Srinivas.
The place being an old theatre, coir was placed above the false ceiling for cooling, above which, rexine foam and gunny bags were also placed. With all these materials being flammable, they burst into flame in the short circuit as the wires were in close contact with the coir.
“A stampede would have occurred in the theatre which has a seating capacity of 600 had the accident taken place during a show. We had to break open the roof made of asbestos sheets to spot the fire and had to use three tanks of water to control the flames,” Srinivas said.
The property loss is estimated at `5 lakh to `10 lakh. A case was registered by the Fire Department.
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