Punjab: 1 person injured in fire at a firecracker shop

Punjab: A fire broke out in a cracker shop in Dhaba Gharial Village near Jalalabad town of Fazilka district late Thursday evening. Crackers worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes within minutes. Villagers rushed to the spot to douse the fire, but by the time they arrived, all the goods had been reduced to ashes. Shop owner Vipin was present there during the incident and suffered burn injuries. He was immediately rushed to Jalalabad Civil Hospital. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but it is believed that the fire might have been started by embers falling on the crackers. In another incident, three shops near the busy Ghantaghar Chowk in Fazilka also caught fire, causing extensive damage. According to DSP Tarsem Masih, the fire broke out in the godown of a sweet seller and spread to two nearby shops. Fire brigade personnel rescued four people, including a woman, trapped inside the shop. Firefighters arrived immediately and were successful in dousing the fire. Despite the administration directing licensed vendors to keep firecrackers only in designated areas, several shops in Fazilka and Jalalabad were found violating these guidelines and storing firecrackers in large quantities.