Huge fire breaks out at restaurant complex

A major blaze that broke out in a portion of the popular Caravan Complex housing many restaurants, near Jabr bin Ahmed intersection (old Ramada junction) beside C Ring Road in Doha, around 7pm on Friday was brought under control after nearly two and a half hours with reportedly no casualties."The fire was brought under control completely and the site is being cooled now," the Ministry of Interior tweeted around 10pm. Eyewitnesses said that the fire was first spotted at the roof of Caravan restaurant and later spread to some of the nearby eateries. The entire complex was evacuated by Civil Defence and police personnel as soon as the fire was reported.The Civil Defence and police teams reached the spot immediately and took actions to bring the fire under control. Several fire tenders and police vehicles were on the scene and cordoned off the area from all sides.Though strong wind was blowing at the time of the fire, the flames did not spread to other buildings in the area, including a villa complex, thanks to the timely intervention of the Civil Defence firefighters.Due to the traffic diversion enforced by the Police in the immediate vicinity of the complex, congestion was experienced in the nearby areas too. An eyewitness said the firefighters were quick to contain the fire. “The police and firefighters reached the scene immediately and started the rescue operations in earnest. The timely action has helped in controlling the fire despite heavy wind that was blowing all over the place. The more than two-decade old Caravan Complex is an immensely busy area, especially during weekends, given the variety of eateries.