Shimla, Oct. 3 -- Five houses were gutted in a fire in Jubbal, in the Shimla district, rendering five families homeless late on Thursday night, fire department officials said on Friday. No casualties were reported in the incident.

According to available information, the fire first broke out in a house in Dhar village around 11pm on Thursday and later spread to other houses. It is believed to have been triggered by a cylinder explosion, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.

Villagers attempted to extinguish the fire themselves and alerted the fire department. The Jubbal fire station was notified at 11:20pm, following which four fire tenders from Kotkhai, Jubbal, and Rohru were rushed to the spot.

With their assistance, th...