Council building catches fire

PADANG, West Sumatra: Three rooms in the West Sumatra council offices were gutted after a fire broke out in the building at dawn on Tuesday. No one was injured in the blaze.

The fire raged in the three second-floor rooms for 45 minutes before it was put out by fire fighters.

An electrical short circuit was believed to have started the fire, police said.

Masful, a councillor, said he heard loud explosion from the building's second floor at dawn on Tuesday and quickly evacuated the building. The fire was already well-established when he got outside, he said. -- JP