CHENNAI: At least 20 residents, including eight women had a narrow escape in a fire accident that broke out due to a malfunctioning of an air-conditioner unit in a house on Yogambal Street in T Nagar reported around midnight of intervening Wednesday and Thursday.

Fire gutted one of the bedrooms and hall reducing the furniture into ashes. The police said that the families had gathered at the house for a marriage.

The police further said that the house belonged to one person identified as Jathmal. At least 20 people were present in the house on Wednesday night. After everyone went to sleep around midnight a fire broke out in one of the rooms of the house, where an AC was running. Seeing smoke coming from the room, all the family members raised the alarm and woke up. All of them rushed out of the house before the fire engulfed the entire house.

A call was made to the police control room and both the police and the fire and rescue department personnel rushed to the spot. The fire was put out by fire and rescue personnel of both T Nagar and Ashok Nagar fire stations in one hour's time. No casualties were reported but furniture and other properties were entirely burnt.