KOCHI: Eight persons had a lucky escape after a major fire broke out at a scrap godown near the Ernakulam South railway overbridge in the wee hours of Sunday.
The godown was completely gutted and the fire could be brought down after nearly three hours by the Fire and Rescue Services Personnel, Kochi City Police and locals. No person was injured in the incident.
According to eyewitnesses and police, the fire broke out around 2 am at the Shiva Parvathi scrap godown, about 100m from the South overbridge, behind Shiva Parvathi Tourist Home.
At the time of fire, eight people from north-eastern states were sleeping on the first floor of the building. Ajith Bhaskaran, whose house was partially gutted, seeing the fire, immediately woke them up and shifted them to a safe place.
“The reason for the fire is yet to be known. It is sheer luck that nobody got hurt,” said a senior police officer.
Since hundreds of kilograms of plastic items were dumped in the godown made of iron sheets, it was a strenuous effort to gut the fire. In between, at least two cooking gas cylinders, possibly empty ones, also exploded.
A source said it was the scrap godown owner Raju Gopi who informed the police and Fire and Rescue Service personnel. The authorities evacuated those living in lodges and houses near the accident site as a precaution.
South ACP Raj Kumar told the media that a detailed probe will be conducted into the incident. Fifteen fire tenders were pressed into service to put out the fire.
Fire at hotel near Kochi airport
A fire broke out at a hotel near the Kochi airport. The incident occurred at Apple Residency around midnight. The fire brigade rescued a girl trapped in a hotel room.
The air-conditioner and wiring in the room were completely destroyed in the fire. A car in the hotel’s parking area was completely destroyed, and three cars and a motorbike were partially destroyed in the fire. The girl trapped in a room was rescued using a ladder after the electricity was completely cut off.