A massive fire broke out at a three-storey furniture showroom in Kanpur at 6:30 am on Tuesday. Within moments, the flames engulfed all floors, throwing up high-rising fire and a dense plume of smoke visible nearly 2 km away.
It was initially feared that six people were trapped inside the showroom. Over eight fire engines rushed to the scene, while police closed off traffic completely on the old Govindnagar bridge due to the severity of the situation. After roughly four hours of rigorous efforts, the fire brigade brought the blaze under control. No casualties were reported in the incident, which occurred within the jurisdiction of the Govindnagar police station.
Businessman Estimates Loss at Nearly ₹2 Crore
The building belongs to Shyam Lal Kukreja and was leased five years ago by furniture dealer Gaurav Bhasin. Bhasin uses the first and third floors as warehouses, while operating a showroom from the second floor.
Bhasin, who has been in business for around 25 years, stated: “The fire broke out at around 5:30 am on Tuesday following a short circuit in a utility pole in front of the showroom. Electrical goods belonging to the landlord, Shyam Lal Kukreja, were stored in the basement, though fortunately, the flames did not reach that level.”
All three above-ground floors were completely gutted in the blaze, destroying furniture worth approximately ₹2 crore (£185,000).
Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Deepak Sharma reported: “The control room received an alert regarding a fire at a furniture showroom in Govind Nagar. Roughly eight fire engines from Fazalganj and Kidwai Nagar were deployed to the scene, along with a specialised water tender. Teams tackled the blaze from three directions and have now successfully brought it under control.”
CFO Deepak Sharma said the fire has been brought under control.
Shailesh Chauhan’s office is located directly behind the furniture showroom. “We rushed to the spot as soon as we heard about the fire,” he said. “Fortunately, the flames did not reach our premises.”
