KOCHI: The first floor of a house, where an automobile spare parts retail unit was functioning, was completely gutted in a huge fire at Malipuram near Vypeen on Saturday. Fire and Rescue Services officials managed to bring the blaze under control after a two-hour-long operation.
Officials from the Vypeen Fire and Rescue Service Station said that the fire broke out around 9 am on the first floor of a house owned by Shiji, who was running an automobile spare parts business.
The floor also housed a large stock of grease oil, which likely intensified the fire. “We received a distress call around 9 am. Our unit was immediately dispatched. However, the fire tenders couldn’t access the house directly due to a narrow road. So, we had to extend hoses from the main road to carry out the firefighting operation,” said a fire official.
Additional fire tenders from North Paravoor and Club Road stations joined the operation soon after. “The operation took longer because the locality is densely populated and we had to ensure the fire didn’t spread to adjacent houses,” the officer added.
The fire was fully extinguished by around 11 am, with four fire tenders involved in the operation. Preliminary findings suggest a short circuit as the cause of the fire.
However, a detailed investigation by the police and electrical inspectorate is under way to confirm the exact cause.