Goa, Aug. 25 -- Panic gripped the residents of Primeiro Vaddo, Velsao, on Sunday after a major fire broke out in the ancestral house of Dr Sanjay Coelho. As the blaze was being tackled, miscreants exploited the chaos to burgle another section of the house, resulting in the theft of valuable items.

Francisco Braganza, a Velsao-Pale-Issorcim panchayat member, alerted the Verna Fire Brigade, while Goa Pradesh Congress Committee treasurer Orville Dourado Rodrigues and his resort staff also responded immediately, using portable fire equipment to help control the fire with the assistance of villagers who managed in preventing the inferno from spreading further.

However, the response from the Verna Fire Station was significantly delayed as the...