Fire breaks out at renovated cinema hall in Sholinghur near Ranipet

Short-circuit might have caused the the accident, say police

A fire broke out at the mini cinema complex of Sumathi theatre at Sholinghur in the early hours of Tuesday. 

Police said that no casualties had been reported. The firefighters battled for two hours to put out the blaze. The entire mini-theatre was gutted. “As most of the lights were on, power short circuit might have caused the accident. Further investigation is on,” said R. Lakshmanan, Station Fire Officer, Sholinghur.

At 4.40 a.m. on Tuesday, a few staff at the theatre saw smoke emanating from the cinema hall and alerted the local police and the fire office, which rushed fire tenders to the spot.

As the fire spread to other parts of the theatre, additional fire tenders from Arakkonam town were pressed into service with a 12-member team led by S. Lakshmi Narayanan, District Fire Officer, Ranipet. They put off the fire after a long struggle. But by then, the entire theatre was gutted. At the time of the accident, two staff were guarding the place and were safely rescued.

Officials said the theatre complex, built in 1944, is the only such facility available for cinema goers in Sholinghur town. Recently, it was refurbished with modern facilities. The main theatre with a seating capacity of 400 persons is located at the entrance whereas the gutted mini-hall is at the rear end. Firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the main theatre hall.   The police said the building developed slight cracks. Residents of the area complained of breathlessness because of the thick smoke that came from the building. A case has been registered by the Sholinghur police.