KOZHIKODE: Eights shops in the busy SM Street here were gutted in a major fire which broke out around 5 a.m. on Thursday. Nine fire tenders of the Fire and Rescue Services and the police had to work for around two hours to extinguish the fire. The fire erupted at a building near Moideen Palli Road, destroying six shops completely and two shops partially. According to the traders, the loss is estimated around Rs 30 lakh.
The fire mishap which occurred nearly three-and-a-half years after a major fire mishap at the same spot, has created panic the shop owners. This mishap, when the Street is celebrating its centenary in 2010, is a real shock for the shop owners.
According to eye witnesses, the fire erupted at Brother’s, a tailoring instruments selling shop, and at Safari Bags, a bag showroom. As SM Street is one of the oldest trade centre in the city, shops are too close and roofs are too low and deteriorated. The mishap was first spotted by the bystanders who left the Government Hospital for Women and Children, Kottapparamba, for their morning walk. “Fire and Rescue Services team concentrated on preventing the fire from spreading to other shops,” said Assistant Divisional Officer A R Arun Kumar. Fire inside the gutted shops was extinguished in the second phase to avoid a major mishap, he said. The police and the natives joined the Fire and Rescue Services personnel to put out the fire.
Mayor A K Premajam, District Collector P B Salim and City Police Commissioner P Vijayan visited the spot. District Collector sought a detailed report from the KSEB electrical wing and Fire and Rescue Services officials. Assistant Commissioner of Police (South) Debesh Kumar Behra has been appointed the investigation officer.
In April 2007, a similar fire mishap near Moideen Palli Mosque had resulted in the death of eight persons and the destruction of around 50 shops.