Hyderabad: A furniture warehouse in Sircilla was gutted in a massive fire in the early hours of Tuesday, leaving a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh dead, while three others who were sleeping inside the premises managed to escape.The deceased was identified as Mohammed Islam, 20, a native of Uttar Pradesh, who was working at the Mahalakshmi Furniture warehouse.According to Sircilla town CI N Srinivas, four workers were sleeping on the premises when the fire broke out. While three of them managed to escape safely, Islam was trapped inside and died in the blaze.The fire is suspected to have started inside the warehouse and quickly intensified after furniture and other combustible materials caught fire. Thick smoke and flames were noticed by people in the vicinity, who alerted the police and fire department.Firefighters rushed to the spot and began efforts to contain the blaze. As the fire spread through the warehouse and dense smoke made it difficult to gain access, the walls of the building were broken down using machinery to allow firefighters to reach the affected areas.Three fire engines were deployed to battle the blaze. Fire personnel continued their efforts to bring the situation under control and prevent the fire from spreading to nearby structures.The inspector said the warehouse was located away from residential houses, which helped prevent the flames from spreading to nearby homes. No casualties were reported in the surrounding area.Preliminary estimates put the value of the furniture and other materials destroyed in the fire at around ₹50 lakh.A short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire, but the exact cause will be established after a detailed inspection by the authorities, the inspector said. A case has been registered, and an investigation is under way.
