Sirsi: Two shops, a private office and a house were blazed , when a fire broke out after a cylinder explosion at Channapatna bazar in Sirsi in between the night of Thursday and Friday.

The fire was first noticed in the backyard of the Asian paints shop at around 1:15 am, and soon spread to the neighboring building destroying a jewelry shop.

Later, the fire also damaged a tax consultant’s office. Along with Sirsi's fire extinguishers, fire dousing vehicles from other parts of the district were also pressed into the service to put out the raging fire.

After a struggle for more than two-hours, the fire was brought under control at about 4:30 am, while the operation continued till 6:30 am on Friday. The paint shop belonged to Santosh Nadig, while the jewelry shop belonged to Balakrishna Venekar. Both the shops were reduced to ashes, while other shops were heavily damaged. More than 50 lakhs worth of property has been destroyed in the incident.

A case has been registered at the Sirsi police station and an investigation is going on.