HYDERABAD: A massive pre-dawn fire ravaged the iconic heritage structure of the 144-year-old Secunderabad Club, with fire fighters battling for more than three hours to bring the blaze under control.
While law enforcing agencies began a detailed probe to ascertain the reasons behind the blaze, police and club officials said the billiards room, wooden staircase leading to the club's famous ballroom, offices of the club bearers, an 1878 bar and men's colonnade, were all reduced to ashes.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department special chief secretary Arvind Kumar asked the fire department to ascertain if appropriate fire protection measures were installed and whether a fire no-objection certificate (NOC) from authorities was taken and a safety audit put in place. The club authorities pegged the loss to an estimated Rs 25 crore.
"The fire damaged some 50,000 square feet area. We suspect that a short circuit due to voltage fluctuation may have triggered the fire. A lot of memorabilia, furniture among other resources has been gutted in the accident, estimates of which are being made by the insurance company and the fire department," said R Raghuram Reddy, president of the club.
Secunderabad Club had British officials as its president from 1878 till 1947. The first Indian to be elected president of the Club was General Syed Ahmad El-Edroos. He was the chief of Hyderabad Army at the time of Operation Polo in September 1948.
The Hyderabad army led by him had surrendered to Indian forces leading to the merger of Hyderabad with the Indian Union. Interestingly, El-Edroos was succeeded in 1949 as the club president by Major General (later General) JN Choudhary, who led Operation Polo. MK Vellodi, the interim chief minister of Hyderabad state before the first general elections, also headed the club. Cricketer ML Jaisimha also served as the president of Secunderabad Club from 1985-87.
Witnesses said the fire started at the bar and quickly spread to other areas before anyone could respond
"I was near the main gate and immediately rushed to the reception area. We tried to douse the fire with internal resources. However, the fire started to spread rapidly. Soon, the fire control room was called in," said one guard, still shaking in disbelief pointing towards the smouldering embers and burnt wood and furniture strewn everywhere.
A blue colts police team of the Karkhana area, who were on patrolling duty, also alerted the control room when they noticed the fire.
Regional fire officer V Papaiah said they received a call at 3.15 am about the fire in the three-storied building.
"As the building was built mostly with wood and the fire was rapidly spreading, the multi-purpose fire tender from the cantonment fire station, water cum foam tender, water bowsers and multi-purpose fire tenders from secretariat were rushed to the spot," Papaiah said.
Fire department officials initially thought of drawing water from the swimming pools at the club, but three water tankers from the cantonment were sufficient.
"The internal staircase of the building which was made of wood was completely destroyed in the fire and the fire-fighting was carried out from an external staircase. We had to access the first and second floor flames through the windows. After three hours, the fire was brought under control and extinguished at 8.40 am," Papaiah added.
While Marredpally police said they are seeking forensic opinion to determine the possible causes, a Clues team collected samples from the site and sent them for analysis in the forensic lab.
The fire department also asked the club management to produce the fire NOC and the fire audit report.
"As per our records, they have not obtained NOC from us. They have not applied for fire audit with us also. As the height of the building is below 15 metres, they might have applied for NOC from the Cantonment board. We have to see what certificates they furnish," said a senior fire department official.
The Secunderabad Cantonment Board, which has leased out the land to the Secunderabad Club, has sought a report from the managing committee as to what led to the accident and consequent damage.
Police said miraculously, the kitchen area, supermarket, liquor storage in the same building were not damaged and the nearby petrol pump remained completely unaffected.
"A few kitchen staff sleeping in the kitchen also managed to leave when they noticed the fire," Marredpally inspector M Mattaiah said.
Intach Hyderabad convenor Anuradha Reddy said they will await an investigation report of fire and police wings. "Intach is ready to extend support to Secunderabad club for restoration," she said.
Hours after the incident, the Secunderabad Club was cordoned off by the Hyderabad police and people stopped from entering the premises.
As the news of the accident started spreading like wildfire, members of the club started trickling in to check the condition of the structure. Key members of the Secunderabad Club's managing committee were seen making rounds of the premises and huddled in meetings.
