A fire broke out at a computer shop on the Negombo main road in the Welisara–Mahabage area on Wednesday evening, causing property damage but no casualties.
Mahabage Police said the blaze erupted at about 7.00 p.m., Hiru News reported. No injuries or deaths have been reported, though the shop sustained damage.
Local residents joined fire crews in tackling the flames. Images from the scene show heavy smoke across the main road, a water bowser with a firefighter working from a ladder, and a crowd gathered along the carriageway as traffic backed up behind stopped container lorries.
Mahabage Police are conducting further investigations into the cause, which has not been established.
The Negombo main road is one of the busiest arterial routes north of Colombo, and the fire occurred during the evening peak on a night of heavy rain across much of the western seaboard.
It was the second fire reported in the greater Colombo area within the same hour. One person died and two were injured in a fire at the Soysapura housing scheme in Moratuwa, on the southern edge of the capital, which also began at around 7.00 p.m. The two incidents are unconnected.
