THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Last week saw two fire accidents in the centre of the city which shed light on the fire and safety measures in various commercial buildings. The most recent incident in Attakulangara on Sunday was ignited by a pile of waste that was being burnt near a building. It spread to a two-storeyed building next to it and burnt down a storeroom comprising 2,000 parcel trays along with a parcel booking centre. Residents living on one side of the building were alerted after they detected smoke.
“The entire Chalai Market would have burned down if the fire was not detected on time. We worked for an hour, constantly pumping water to ensure that the fire did not spread. There were no fire alarms or security measures in place,” said Santosh Kumar T, assistant station officer, Chenkalchoola fire station.
The other incident took place earlier in the week in Karamana. The fire was caused by a short circuit and destroyed a godown of Bata footwear. A recent list released by the fire and safety authorities has over 1,500 buildings without safety measures in place in the district.
A solution in the making
The city corporation has formed a disaster management squad comprising fire and safety officials.
A fire and safety point was set up at Chalai Market to launch firefighting without delay. Similarly, the Fire and Safety Department has been conducting ward-level evaluations to check the number of households and establishments with fire and safety measures.
The survey, according to a fire and safety official, has been completed in Manacaud and Vanchiyoor wards and will soon be extended to other wards.
Mayor K Sreekumar said that fire accidents are a major concern. “The fire and safety point in Chalai was introduced especially because of the density of the area and the requirements. We will soon implement the measures widely after including the other area in the project,” he said.