Fire set by rat in a car showroom causes loss of ₹1 crore

People in many countries believe that if a black cat walks across their path, it is a bad omen which brings misfortune and death. The truth of this superstition depends on the perspective of the people. But, here is a rat that brought bad luck to a car showroom without knowing.

A major fire accident happened at Mitra Motors in Hyderabad in February. Mitra Motors deals with sales and services of Maruti Nexa cars.

As the accident happened at midnight, three cars were damaged and caused the showroom a loss worth ₹1 crore.

The cause for fire mishap was identified as a short circuit in the reports of the Police. They had closed the case. However, after six months, very recently it was identified that a small rat caused the accident.

The truth came out through a detailed CCTV inspection of Truth Labs, a private forensic agency.

The actual incident was reported by them. On the day when the fire accident happened, there was a pooja in the showroom for which diya was lit by an employee.

As the rooms were closed and there was no wind in the room, the diya remained lit till late night and no one noticed it while closing the doors. The entire thing happened on the first floor.

At 11:55 p.m., a tiny rat carrying some burning material was visible in the CCTV. It is likely to be the wick from the diya. The rat was seen near a chair with the burning material and within a couple of seconds the fire broke out. Part of the chair was seen burning in the visuals. Within 10 minutes, the flames spread to the ground floor where the cars were kept for repair.

The team concluded that the fire did not break out due to external flammable liquids as no hydrocarbons were found.

Image from Pxfuel (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Reference: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-xdwhv