Chandigarh, March 21 -- Two days after a massive fire engulfed two SCOs at the Sector 22 mobile market, the UT Estate Office swung into action and sealed their ground floor showrooms. The showrooms, which house Sera Photo Store and AD's Mobile Arcade, were sealed after their structures were found to be unsafe. Sub-divisional magistrate (Central) Naveen Rattu has also recommended sealing of the two adjoining SCOs till a structural stability certificate was issued by the Estate Office. "The showrooms have developed cracks and sustained substantial damage due to the fire," said Rattu. In addition, a report into the incident by the UT Estate Office has revealed that inflammable material in the SCOs caughtfire and shopkeepers did not timely use the fire extinguishers already available in the shops. Multiple fire tenders had rushed to the spot and fire was controlled after several hours of firefighting, the report stated. The SDM also stated that the photography lab was recently refurbished, and a large amount of flammable and combustible material stored inside made it a Herculean task for firefighters to control the fire, which spread quickly from the rear to the front side of the shop. "We have recommended that the adjoining SCOs, one of which is a photo lab again, be sealed till the time they procure a structural stability certificate. The fire started as a small spark but spread massively as a lot of inflammable material was kept inside the shop and they did not make use of the available fire extinguishers," he said. UT assistant estate officer (Buildings) Khushpreet Kaur said they will be conducting a survey of the mobile market for building violations as it had come to light that multiple small cabins were constructed inside to increase rental space. On Wednesday, a fire had erupted on the rear side of the second floor of SCO Number 1025, reportedly due to a short-circuit and spread rapidly, also ravaging SCO 1024, due to the presence of AC compressors, cylinders, chemicals and other inflammable material. Nine fire tenders, including one from Mohali, were pressed into service and it took over 12 hours to completely douse the flames. Though no one was hurt, both SCOs suffered significant damage, and the affected traders have claimed losses running into crores....