Fire breaks out at house in Malé

A fire broke out today in a house in the Henveiru ward of Malé, injuring one person and causing damages to property.

The fire at the Green Avenue house was reported to the military’s fire and rescue services around 12:40pm.

“The fire was put out within minutes. No one was seriously injured but one person who suffered suffocation from smoke was taken to the hospital,” a police spokesperson said.

The fire caused minor damages to the house, which is located near the Vision Optical shop on Ameer Ahmed Magu.

The police said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

The police and military had stepped up security operations earlier this month after arsonists attempted to set fires in the capital’s suburbs Hulhumalé and Vilimalé.

An engine at the State Electricity Company powerhouse in Hulhumalé was set on fire in the early hours of September 28, causing a power outage for an hour in the reclaimed artificial island.

On October 6, a small plastic bottle filled with petrol was thrown into the powerhouse of Vilimalé by a group of men, who had forced their way in after breaking a fence.

Two days earlier, a fire broke out at a Maldives Gas shop in Hulhumalé. The police said at the time that a doormat caught on fire and spread to the door.

The police and officers from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) fire and rescue service put out the fire before it spread inside the shop.

It is unclear whether the shop was deliberately set on fire.