Vijayawada: The best price outlet at Nidamanuru here was fully gutted in fire today, police said.
Noone was injured in the mishap.
The blaze broke out in one of the AC units in the huge complex abutting the national highway-16 early in the morning triggering an alarm.
The security personnel tried to douse the fire using the fire-fighting equipment in the store but the flames spread fast and turned uncontrollable.
The Disaster Response and Emergency Services Department was immediately called to put out the fire. The department pressed at least eight fire engines into service and battled for over seven hours to control the blaze.
Traffic on the NH, coming from Visakhapatnam side, came to a halt because of the fire-fighting operation as the stretch of road here was narrow. Police diverted traffic via alternative routes.
As the store had a fibre-sheet roof, fire spread fast and led to its collapse, preventing the staff from moving out the goods to safety, police said.
“Over eighty per cent of the goods were gutted. According to preliminary estimates, the monetary loss could be about Rs 20 crore,” a senior police official said.
As the furniture section was located separately, the staff succeeded in emptying it before any damage was done.
An investigation is being carried out to determine the exact cause of the fire accident.