THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A fire broke out for the second time in less than two weeks at a furniture and mattress shop at Plamoodu Junction in Pattom, one of the busiest stretches of the capital, on Thursday afternoon, raising concerns over repeated safety lapses, with the fire department suspecting the possibility of foul play. A vacant area close to the shop where the debris of the previous blaze was lying was also gutted in the incident.
The fire was reported at around 1 pm at Joy Furniture and Manufactures, which had suffered a major fire around 10-15 days ago.
Four fire tenders - three from Thiruvananthapuram and one from Chackai - arrived at the scene to douse the fire. The fire personnel brought the
situation under control by 3.10 pm. According to fire department officials, the latest fire appeared to have involved debris left behind after the previous blaze, which had reportedly not been cleared from the premises.
An official of the fire department said this was not an isolated incident at the location and that the establishment had previously been advised to take adequate safety and operational measures.
The repeated incidents at the same establishment have raised suspicion about whether the latest fire was accidental or not.
“There is a possibility that unwanted materials may have been deliberately set on fire for easier disposal. We will be investigating this as we are not yet sure about the cause of the fire. It’s a dense area in the city packed with buildings,” the official said.
However, according to the shop owner, the fire was caused by a spark from welding.
