Last night a massive fire broke out at Gulab village near the Line of Control in Gurez around 02:30 am, in which more than ten houses of the village were engulfed in roaring flames and were raised to ground. The cause for initiation of the fire is unknown, however, it is said to have started from the house of Ghulam Nabi lone S/o Gafoor lone who works as a porter with the Army.
A nearby Army post spotted the fire in the village and a quick reaction team from the post carrying fire fighting equipment immediately reached the village within 15 mins for the assistance of the villagers and evacuated them from their houses simultaneously tried to douse the fire and save the villagers. The Army’s team being the first responders to the situation were able to minimise the damages and contain the fire until the fire department reached the village at around 0430 am. The joint team of Army and fire department soon extinguished the fire completely and were able to save many precious lives through their proactive surveillance and swift action. However, more than ten houses were gutted and a few surrounding houses were scorched.
After a gruelling night of firefighting, the Army provided hot breakfast for the entire village and is providing the villagers with tentages, sleeping bags and food supplies to mitigate their hardships. The villagers and the Civil Administration have expressed their profound gratitude towards the proactive and swift measures undertaken by the Army in containing this catastrophic situation.