KASUR, April 15: At least 20 houses were burnt to ashes here on Sunday in Lal Shah locality in A-Division police precincts.

Reports said a fire erupted in the house of Hakim Ali owing to a short-circuit which engulfed the raw material, including straws used for making sofas and curtains (chikks) lying in the courtyard. The area people called the fire brigade which reached the spot after two hours.

The fire spread to other houses which ran the same business. At least 20 houses, including those of Allah Dita, Asghar Ali, Taj Din, Imam Din, Ghafoor and Ahmed Din, were reduced to ashes. The loss has been estimated at Rs3 million while 12 people received minor injuries during their fight against fire.

When a fire brigade van reached the spot, people threw bricks on it and damaged the vehicle.

When this correspondent contacted the fire brigade office by phone, an official said the department had only two vans.

“One has been sent to Kot Radha Kishan due to the arrival of the Punjab chief minister there on April 17 (tomorrow),” he said.