A fire gutted a three-storey building on Netaji Bypass Road in Dharmapuri on Wednesday, bringing traffic on the Dharmapuri-Salem and Salem-Dharmapuri stretches to a halt for nearly three-and-a-half hours.
The blaze broke out at an establishment owned by K Venkatachalam near the Pidamaneri road junction at around 4pm. Flames spread rapidly through the building, sending thick black smoke into the air and causing panic among residents and motorists, according to the Times of India report.
Two fire tenders initially reached the site. A Dharmapuri town fire station officer said firefighters brought the flames partially under control after nearly an hour, but four additional tenders were deployed as the building continued to burn. Municipal tankers supplied water during the firefighting operation.
The fire was brought under control by 7.30pm. The incident disrupted movement along the bypass and forced police to manage traffic diversions in the surrounding road network.
Dharmapuri town police erected barricades near Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital and Adhiyaman Government Boys Higher Secondary School. Congestion subsequently spread to Sitha Veerappa Chetty Street, Arumugam Achari Street, Vakkil Street, Four Roads Junction, Mohammed Ali Club Road and SV Road.
The traffic disruption also affected emergency movement. Two ambulances were caught in the gridlock near Rajagopal Park while vehicles were being diverted through the town’s internal streets.
The supplied report did not state the cause of the fire or report any casualties. It also did not provide details of the building’s occupants, the extent of property damage beyond the building being gutted, or any official assessment of fire-safety compliance. The report identified the firefighting response and traffic diversions as the immediate measures taken by authorities.
