Probe launched into fire in under-construction highrise

KOCHI:  The Fire and Rescue Services officers have launched a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the fire that broke out in a 30-storey under-construction building at Edachira here on Tuesday night, panicking nearby residents. The blaze broke out on the top floors of the North Tower of Sands Infinit Twin Tower, an under-construction project located on the SmartCity Kochi campus, around 10.30 pm on Tuesday. It was extinguished by around 8 am on Wednesday after nearly 10 hours of efforts by hundreds of Fire and Rescue Services personnel. There were no casualties.

“We received an alert by around 10.45 pm following which seven fire tenders from Thrikkakara, Tripunithura, Eloor and Gandhinagar were pressed into service. The owners possess a no-objection certificate for the construction of the 30-storey building and 17 storeys have been built. We believe welding works were going on in the under-construction portion and a short circuit might have triggered the fire. A detailed examination is underway,” said KK Shyju, Divisional Fire Officer, Ernakulam. 

In a statement, SmartCity Kochi CEO Manoj Nair said co-developer Sands Infrabuild Pvt Ltd along with their main contractor Tata Projects Ltd and Project Management Consultant CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd involved with the project were also conducting a detailed investigation to identify the cause of the incident.  “Damage assessment to the automatic climbing units, coupled with structural assessment of already installed structural elements, will be undertaken before works re-commence on the North Tower,” he said.

A tough task
Containing the fire proved tough for the firefighters. “We struggled initially. Above the 17th floor, there were no proper walls and the materials that caught fire had been lying on the floor, making it impossible for us to reach the spot,” Shyju said.

He said they used the building’s lift up till the 10th floor from where firefighters reached the 17th floor using a ladder. “A water tank was set up there using a crane and high-pressure equipment were used to pump water as we can spray water only till the 15th floor from our fire tenders,” he said. Ranjith Kumar V S, Fire Station Officer, Thrikkakara, said it was for the first time in recent memory that they stored water during firefighting and doused the flames using it.