KOCHI: Residents of a high-rise apartment building in the city had a narrow escape when a fire, which broke out on the top floor of the building, started to spread to the floors below on Saturday afternoon. However, the timely intervention of the Fire and Rescue Department averted a major tragedy as they managed to douse the flames before it could spread to other floors.
The incident occurred at Swapnil Apartments on Kaloor - Kadavanthra Road at Gandhi Nagar when a huge pile of waste dumped on the 17th floor of the apartment caught fire from an incinerator used by the apartment authorities to burn waste.
The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained and fire officials are of the opinion that the piled up plastic waste had helped spread the fire rapidly. The panic-stricken residents were immediately evacuated from the building as the firefighters broke the glass windows of the upper floors of the apartment to let out the thick smoke that had filled the rooms.
“There are 64 families residing in the apartment. We managed to douse the flames before it spread. No casualties have been reported,” said Sajan SP, a Fire and Rescue Services personnel.
Meanwhile, Johnson Pulimoottil, secretary of Swapnil Apartments Owner’s Association, said the delay from the part of the workers with CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India) to remove food and plastic waste caused the incident. “Usually, CREDAI removes the waste from the apartment every 15 days. But this month, they failed to clear the waste on time. We have permission from the Kochi Corporation and other respective authorities to use incinerators on top of the apartment,” he said. Another resident said that they had convened an immediate meeting of the residents to create awareness about waste disposal.