20221014 Fire breaks out at footwear godown in Kochi
India Oct 14 2022 “Building” “Warehouses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire breaks out at footwear godown in Kochi
Updated: 2022-10-14
KOCHI: A fire broke out at a footwear godown on Asoka Road at Pottakuzhi on Thursday evening, officials said. Five fire tenders from three fire stations were pressed into service to douse the fire and control the thick smoke billowing out of the building.
There was no report of casualty, officials of the fire service department said.
Praful A K, assistant station officer in Gandhinagar said it was a footwear godown functioning on the ground floor of a two-storied building that went ablaze.
“We received the call by 4pm. There were families staying on the top floors, but they managed to escape from the building. Though it was a minor fire that broke out at the godown, thick smoke was billowing out of it, and it was unbearable to enter the godown. We took around five minutes to find out the building which was not visible to us due to the smoke. The footwear materials caught fire due to a short circuit. All the items were stacked up to the top of the ceiling, which is not allowed,” he said.
As the materials were piled up in huge quantities, the fire force personnel had a tough time dragging the molten sooty mess outside.
Around 40 fire force personnel were engaged to control the smoke in two and a half hours. They entered the building wearing breathing apparatus. Reports said loss worth around Rs 3 lakh had been caused due to the fire.
“In godowns, the materials should not be stacked up till they touch the ceiling. Besides, the materials have to be kept in rows at a distance of 3m from each other. These factors should be followed by those in the godowns to prevent fire incidents. When the materials are piled up to the ceiling, they might touch the electric wires and cause a fire. In Pottakuzhi, it is doubtful whether these safety measures were followed,” said Praful.
The fire force personnel who went inside the godown suffered uneasiness due to the dense smoke.
Web Source: The Times of India