Firemen battle for hours to douse the raging fire

KOCHI:  For the hundreds of Fire and Rescue personnel involved in the hours-long efforts to douse the blaze at the footwear godown on Kalathilparambil Road, it was an uphill task for several reasons. Since the road is narrow, access was a problem for the fire tenders. The main entrance to the road via Chittoor Road to Ernakulam South Railway Station Road is closed due to the ongoing Kochi Metro work and hence the fire tenders reached the spot via various service roads nearby.

Adding to the woes the aluminium sheets which covered the three floors of the building stopped the water being sprayed from entering the building, which doubled the efforts of the personnel to put out the fire. Besides, the building has no proper ventilation. 

However, the firefighters managed the situation by spraying water and foam from the nearby building and contained the blaze. “We sprayed the foam through the ventilation as there were no other major openings,” said a Fire and Rescue Service officer. Since thick smoke was billowing out of the building, the firefighters could not enter the building even by 4 pm. Their efforts helped to prevent the fire from engulfing nearby buildings, including a residential apartment. The godown was completely gutted.  

As the building is located very close to the Ernakulam South Railway Station, panic gripped the neighbouring buildings. About 28 families are residing in the nearby Govind Apartments, all of whom came out on the street when the fire broke out. It is learned students of a nearby school were also evacuated following the fire. Residents in the area said though Fire and Rescue officials were informed immediately, the blaze had spread to the third floor by the time they arrived.

According to the officers, the delay was caused was due to the roadblock because of the ongoing construction works of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL).Fire tenders reached the spot by noon, but the fire continued to rage for hours. Subsequently, more units were alerted. However, by 3 pm the blaze was contained though it could not be completely doused.