A fire caused by an LPG leak broke out on the 11th floor of a large apartment complex in Thaiyur near Kelambakkam on Chennai’s Old Mahabalipuram Road on Wednesday night, prompting the evacuation of residents from the affected and neighbouring flats. No casualties were reported.
The fire started at around 9pm after occupants of a flat on the 11th floor noticed a gas leak. They left the apartment immediately, but the leak caught fire soon afterwards. The flames spread to neighbouring flats before the gas cylinder exploded, triggering panic inside the residential complex.
The apartment community has around 1,500 flats spread across 18 floors and is home to more than 4,000 residents. Its scale meant that the incident required residents from multiple flats to be moved out while firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Fire tenders from Tiruporur, Siruseri and Kovalam were sent to the complex. Fire and rescue personnel battled the flames before bringing the fire under control, according to the report. Residents of the affected flat and nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.
The incident occurred in Thaiyur, a growing residential area along the OMR corridor near Kelambakkam, where large apartment developments accommodate thousands of residents within high-rise communities. The concentration of homes in such complexes makes evacuation and emergency access important operational concerns during a fire, although the source report did not provide details of the building’s fire-safety systems or evacuation arrangements.
The reported cause was an LPG leak inside the flat. The source did not state whether the leak resulted from the cylinder, regulator, hose or another appliance, and no official assessment of the precise cause was provided in the available report. It also did not specify the number of flats damaged or whether residents were allowed to return after the fire was extinguished.
Fire and rescue personnel were assessing the extent of damage after bringing the blaze under control. The assessment is expected to establish the impact on the affected and neighbouring flats and determine the next steps for residents and building management.
