KOZHIKODE: Several shops in the SM Street here, popularly known as Mittayi Theruvu, were gutted late on Wednesday night.
The fire is believed to be on account of a short circuit and spread from a shop adjacent to the Koyenco Bazaar at around 9.45 pm to nearby textile and footwear shops. The loss on account of the mishap is estimated to run into several crores.
The fire had engulfed at least five shops in the two-storeyed building and adjacent Hanuman Swami Temple by the time the firefighters brought it under control by around 11.30 pm. More than 20 shops were partially gutted.
Coordinated action by several units of fire and rescue services, police personnel and locals, besides a timely downpour averted a major mishap. Koyenco Bazar is a major trading centre inside the S M Street with dozens of wholesale and retail textile and footwear outlets.
Apart from the 16 fire tenders in Kozhikode district, the operation was aided by units from Wayanad, Malappuram and Kannur. Two special fire tenders from Calicut International Airport, Karipur, were also rushed to the spot. District Collector N Prasanth, ADGP N Shanker Reddy and Kozhikode City Police Commissioner P A Valsan led the fire fighting measures.
No casualties have been reported. “Fire was first spotted inside Beauty Stores shop and later spread to two adjacent shops. All of them were completely gutted,” an eye-witness said. Eight years ago on April 5, 2007, eight persons were killed and close to 50 people were injured in a fire outbreak at the SM Street.