Minister for Public Works and Highways E.V. Velu inspected the gutted shops on Kamatchi Amman temple Street near Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai town on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A 35-year-old worker sustained burn injuries after a shop that sells pooja items caught fire, destroying two shops and seven two-wheelers, on Kamatchi Amman temple Street near Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai town on Wednesday.
Police said that the injured person was identified as Mohammed Ali, a local. An initial inquiry revealed that it was around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday when S. Sabeer Ahmed, the shop owner, noticed smoke coming from an electrical box in the shop, located on the ground floor of a single-storey commercial complex with around 30 shops.
Police said a huge volume of camphor, that was stored near the electrical box, went into flames after a spark from the electrical unit. In minutes, fire spread to the entire shop, which is around 100 sq.ft. As they screamed for help, Sabeer Ahmed and his worker Ali, who sustained burns on both his hands, were rescued by other shopkeepers and residents.
Based on an alert, Tiruvannamalai Town police and firefighters from Arunachaleswarar Temple rushed to the spot. An eight-member firefighter team, led by A. Palaniswamy, Station Fire Officer (SFO), struggled to contain the blaze from spreading to other shops and buildings on the narrow stretch.
“We completely doused the fire and smoke around 6.45 a.m. on Thursday. The incident occurred around one kilometre from the Arunachaleswara temple,” Mr. Palaniswamy told The Hindu.
Police said that the fire was contained within the ground floor of the building before spreading to the first floor, where the shop owner had stocked around two tonnes of camphor for sale during Karthigai Deepam festival.
Police said an electrical short circuit in the electrical box could be the reason for the incident. A probe is underway.
Published – November 28, 2025 05:00 am IST
