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Manipal : Two shops located side by side belonging to a refrigeration firm were gutted in a fire, while another travel agency shop suffered partial damage, on the MIT Road here on Monday. However, no one was injured.

The firm, Manipal Refrigeration, did repair works of fridges and air-conditioners. There were many fridges and air-conditioners in the shops. An oxygen cylinder in the refrigeration shop also exploded after the fire broke out. As a result, most of the fridges and other cooling equipment got burnt. The nearby travel agency shop was partially damaged, while the name board of Karnataka Bank ATM suffered damage. All these three shops and the ATM are located in a row on MIT Road.

The fire broke out around 2.15 p.m. On receiving information, personnel of Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading to nearby shops and the ATM.

However, the personnel had to work for about an hour-and-a-half to completely extinguish the fire.

A major fire erupted at the office of a travel agency at Manipal here on Monday June 22. The fire spread to nearby refrigeration and AC repair shops and an ATM too, causing a total loss of Rs 15 lac.

It is learnt that the fire sparked off due to short circuit at Suman Travels in a building owned by Ravindra Pai. The blaze soon spread to two adjacent Manipal Refrigeration and AC repair shops and Karnataka Bank ATM, all located in the same building.

According to Sadashiva Shettigar, an officer in the Fire and Emergency Services, the exact cause of the fire would be known only after an investigation. “The damage to the refrigeration firm is substantial,” he said.

According to Ganesh Amin, owner of the refrigeration shop, the staff of his shop had gone out for work, when the fire broke out. He was informed of the fire by the owner of the travel agency Deepak, he said.

MLA Pramod Madhwaraj arrived at spot and took stock of the situation. The locals complained to the MLA about the delay on the part of the fire service. Madhwaraj in response took the fire officials to task