Employees of Metro Shoes, one of the oldest shops in the Metro House building, were yesterday lounging about in the shadows of the ground floor staircase as water trickled down the same stairs — a sign of the ongoing cooling process being carried out by the fire officials upstairs. "We are not going to lose our jobs," said an employee, dismissing claims that the building might be sealed. "We may be shifted to other locations. In spite of the fire and even though the shop isn’t open, we have still come to work."

Employees of Metro Shoes lounge about as cooling operations get under way. Pic/Suresh Karkera