Short Circuit Suspected Behind Sunday Morning Blaze
Key Points:
- Eight shops reduced to ashes in Bokaro market fire
- Illegal power hooking and gas refilling suspected as causes
- Fire brigade brings blaze under control after heavy effort
BOKARO – A fire tore through a market in the Sector-6 police station area of Bokaro on Sunday morning, gutting eight shops.
The blaze broke out around 6 am and is suspected to have started from a short circuit. Flames spread rapidly, engulfing all eight establishments within minutes.
Two fire brigade vehicles reached the spot soon after being alerted. Firefighters brought the blaze under control only after a prolonged struggle.
Officials fear the incident has caused losses running into lakhs of rupees. However, the exact damage assessment is still underway.
Investigators believe an illegal electricity connection tapped from Bokaro Steel’s supply may have triggered the fire. Meanwhile, an illegally operated gas refilling centre at the site has also come under scrutiny.
Reports suggest an explosion occurred at the gas centre during the blaze. Officials said the affected shops were mostly makeshift structures that had stood for years.
Among the establishments destroyed were a sweet shop, a repair shop and the gas refilling centre. Several other small shops in the row were also gutted.
According to eyewitnesses, sparks were first spotted inside one shop early in the morning. The fire then spread quickly to neighbouring shops, causing panic across the area.
Fire department officials said their initial probe points to illegal electricity hooking as the likely cause. They added that gas cylinders were reportedly being refilled illegally at the site.
Officials also confirmed hearing an explosion involving a gas cylinder during the fire. Between six and seven cylinders were later recovered from the spot.
The incident adds to a string of recent fire and safety hazards reported across Jharkhand. Similarly, a gas leakage fire at a Chandil hotel had earlier tested local fire response teams.
An Adityapur factory blast also left several workers injured in recent weeks. Elsewhere, a diesel tank explosion in Giridih sparked a major fire on a moving truck.
Bokaro itself has seen other infrastructure concerns in recent months, including a residential block collapse that trapped several residents. Meanwhile, local police have separately made progress on other fronts, recovering stolen mobile phones through a tracking initiative.
