THOOTHUKUDI: Fire engulfed a warehouse at Madathur in the wee hours of Friday, and over 200 tonnes of coir consignments readied for export were reduced to ashes. Five water tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire. Sources said that though the fire broke out in the wee hours, it came to light only around 7.30 am.
The warehouse located along Thoothukudi-Madurai NH at SIPCOT had a stock of over 3,000 tonnes of coir piths. Five water tenders and 20 personnel from the SIPCOT, Thoothukudi and Sterlite fire stations took over seven hours to douse the fire. District Forest Officer Kumar said the fire might have been triggered due to an auto-ignition process. An additional water tender has been placed as standby near the warehouse.