Bhubaneswar: Some documents stored inside the record room of the Odisha Lokayukta office were gutted in a minor fire that broke out on Thursday morning, reportedly due to a suspected electrical short circuit.
According to Fire Services officials, the blaze erupted around 10 am in one section of the record room of the Lokayukta office, which is housed inside Toshali Bhawan in the Satyanagar area of Bhubaneswar. Smoke was noticed from a rack where documents and other materials had been stored.
Two fire brigade teams were immediately dispatched to the spot. The personnel acted swiftly and managed to bring the flames under control within 15 to 20 minutes, preventing the fire from spreading to other parts of the building. Officials said the timely intervention averted what could have been a more serious incident.
Preliminary assessment suggests that some documents kept in a rack inside the record room were damaged in the fire. No injuries were reported in the incident.
“The fire was suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit,” a Fire Services official said, adding that further examination would confirm the exact cause.
Authorities are assessing the extent of the damage to records and reviewing safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
