Fire at women's hostel in Vizag; all inmates safe

A fire broke out Safe Hands Ladies Hostel, a facility for working women, here in the early hours on Saturday. There were no casualties as some inmates saw smoke coming out from a ceiling fan in one of the rooms and immediately alerted others and evacuated the building.

There were some 40 women inmates in the hostel, located near Asilmetta Junction under Three Town Police station limits, when the fire broke out around 1.30 am, a police official said. Fire department officials said short circuit on the top floor was the probable cause. Belongings of some of the inmates were destroyed in the blaze. Some inmates alleged that the fire department didn't respond quickly enough.

Fire inspector N Gopikrishna refuted the allegation, saying timely action by firemen saved some lives. "We will serve a notice to the hostel management for violation of safety norms and not having a No-Objection Certificate from the fire department," he said.

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