Passersby, who noticed smoke billowing from the godown belonging to a dealer in wax candles, paper cups and plates, alerted the fire control room.
Owner of the building, Manohar told the officials that as there was no power last evening, workers probably have left the place, forgetting to put off the candles. The lit candles might have triggered the fire, he added.
Though half a dozen fire tenders were pressed to douse the fire, the faulty vehicles obstructed the operation.
As the water was leaking from the damaged main pipe, there was no pressure for water to reach the godown on the second floor. Precious minutes were lost in plugging the leak and replacement vehicles were brought.
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