Fire Erupts at Itahari Ice Cream Parlor; Lack of Fire Engines Delays Response

Biratnagar. A fire broke out around 10 AM on Wednesday at the Purwanchal Ice Cream Parlor located at the main chowk of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City-6 in Sunsari. The preliminary estimate suggests a loss of approximately NPR 3.5 million due to the blaze.

Fire engines were summoned from Letang and Sundarharaicha municipalities in Morang, as well as from Inaruwa, Duhabi, Ramdhuni, and Dharan in Sunsari to control the fire. The fire was extinguished in two hours. The main reason for the delay in extinguishing the fire was the absence of a fire engine in Itahari itself.

"We saw a terrible situation when a fire broke out in houses around the main chowk of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City, which has earned the reputation of burning down fire engines," said Arjun Sharma of Itahari. "It was shameful to see five fire engines from Dharan, Birtamod, Inaruwa, and Biratnagar coming to extinguish the fire at the Purwanchal Ice Cream Parlor, located about 150 meters from Itahari Chowk," he added.

Not just Sharma, many locals in Itahari have been posting similar sentiments and opinions on social media.

According to DSP Subas Hamal of the Area Police Office, Itahari, it took nearly two hours to extinguish the fire. "The risk was high. We succeeded in bringing the fire completely under control after about two hours of effort," said Hamal.

Itahari, considered the major commercial and transit hub of Koshi Province, frequently experiences fire incidents. Therefore, the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City used to keep three fire engines ('Warunyantra') on 'standby' multiple times. However, all three fire engines of the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City were burned during the 'Gen-Z' protests on Bhadra 24.

"There is nothing in Itahari. How to extinguish the fire is a big problem," DSP Hamal said. "Even with the cooperation of other municipalities, we could not extinguish it quickly."

He stated that everyone realized the damage caused by the fire and the problem in controlling it.

According to Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Hemkarna Paudel, the municipality has completed the procurement process for one fire engine and is in the stage of bringing it in. He mentioned that it should arrive by Baisakh.

"The procurement process is finalized, and the bid has been accepted. The company that accepted the bid has asked for 120 days. That time will likely take up the entire month of Baisakh," Paudel said.

During the protests, three fire engines, a roller, a grader, a water tanker, and 20-25 vehicles owned by the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City were burned.

The fire engines, which are ready for essential services, were at the municipal premises on Bhadra 24. Pictures of the burned fire engines and vehicles can still be seen on social media. Previously, Itahari's fire engines used to serve not only its own municipality but also neighboring municipalities like Dharan, Biratnagar, Duhabi, and Inaruwa. But now, Itahari has reached a point where it has to rely on others for help.

"People were terrified by today's fire. The need for a fire engine has also been felt. It has also served as a lesson for society," Paudel said. "Because yesterday, when 20 socially conscious people from the market came out and said let's not burn public property like fire engines, let's not burn ambulances, it was not possible to stop them. People who call themselves civil society, gentlemen, and intellectuals in the market just watched, did not resist when wrong things were happening, and some were even involved in inciting things here."

Mayor Paudel stated that they too must learn a lesson from this incident. He mentioned that property worth NPR 370 million, including vehicles and physical infrastructure, was damaged during the Gen-Z protests.

"Vehicles alone accounted for about NPR 280 million in damage. Several Scorpios, a roller, a grader, and many motorcycles were damaged. The total damage to Itahari's vehicles and physical infrastructure is NPR 370 million," Paudel said.

According to him, the four electric city buses, two ambulances, and two hearse vans procured by the municipality were saved.

Some people trapped in the tall building due to the inability to control the fire at the Plaza were also rescued by helicopter. At that time, the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City realized the need for a fire engine capable of spraying water or controlling fire from above.

About two years ago, a fire broke out at Central Plaza in Itahari's main chowk. At that time, Itahari's own fire engine was the first to arrive to control the fire. Subsequently, eight fire engines from neighboring cities like Biratnagar, Dharan, and Inaruwa attempted to bring the fire under control.

Some people trapped in the tall building due to the inability to control the fire at the Plaza were also rescued by helicopter. At that time, the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City realized the need for a fire engine capable of spraying water or controlling fire from above.

"At that time, we said that a fire engine capable of controlling fire even from high places was necessary, and we should purchase one. But since the existing ones were burned, we couldn't purchase it then," said Mayor Paudel.