Cause unknown: One of the houses that was razed to the ground Photo: Jamyang Phuntsho

19 November, 2009 - About 12 families living in upper Haa town were made homeless when a fire, which broke out yesterday afternoon, completely gutted three houses and partially burnt another.

Nine families lost everything in the blaze. The three families living in the partially gutted house managed to salvage some of their belongings.

All the burned houses were two-storied traditional structures that were used as shops and living quarters by the owners and tenants working in Haa.

Seven families lived in one of the houses that was completely burnt to the ground. The owners occupied the other two houses. One of the houses, belonging to a former gup, was locked when the fire broke out. He had come to Thimphu for treatment.

The cause of the fire is not known but the victims said that around 1 pm a heavy gust of wind put out the power supply. Immediately after that they saw flames in a cowshed behind the houses. Fanned by the strong afternoon winds, within no time, the houses in the front of the shed were engulfed in flames.

“I was about to have lunch when the power went off,” said 84-year-old Lhadon, who was staying in one of the gutted houses. “Then I noticed that the back of the house was covered in flames and I ran out.”

River relief: The bank and water of Haachu came to the rescue

“I could not salvage anything,” said Gopinathan from Kerala, whose wife teaches at the Katsho lower secondary school. “I didn’t even get the time to get my coat, which had Nu 15,000 in the pocket,” said Gopinathan, who has been working in Bhutan for the past 14 years. “The fire spread too fast with the wind.”

Another victim, Dupchu Zangmo, 37, said that her daughter studying in Katsho school had just left after lunch, when friends alerted her that a fire had broken out. “I rushed in and managed to get hold of two LPG cooking gas cylinders,” said Dupchu Zangmo, who was running a general shop in the same house. “Even the gas cylinders went missing later in the day.”

Her daughter also lost all her books and notes in the blaze.

People living in nearby houses were seen evacuating their belongings.

Three fire engines arrived at the scene minutes after the fire broke out. The proximity of the Haachu, a few metres away, made it possible to pump a continuous supply of water and bring the flames under control in about three and half hours.

The army, IMTRAT, dzongkhag officials and teachers and students of nearby schools helped to control the flames.

“I was on invigilation duty when I heard that there was a fire,” said Jamyang Phuntsho, who teaches at Ugyen Dorji school. “One teacher stayed back and the rest of us rushed to the scene.”

His Majesty the King rushed to the scene soon after news reached Thimphu of the fire at around 1:30 pm.

The army and the IMTRAT have provided tents and temporary shelters for the victims.