There is no respite from increasing fire incidents in Ernakulam amidst the scorching weather.
As per official estimates by the Department of Fire and Rescue Services, fire stations in district received over 350 ‘fire calls’ between January 1 and February 20. The station at Club Road recorded the highest number of cases – 36. The number of fire incidents reported in other stations in this period include Gandhinagar (35); Angamaly (30); Thripunithura (28); Perumbavoor (27); Thrikkakara (26); Eloor (24); Mulanthuruthy (24); North Paravur (22); Mattancherry (19); Pattimattom (15); Piravom (13); Aluva (13); Koothattukulam (12); Kothamangalam (10); Kalloorkad (4); and Vypeen (3).
Majority of the calls were incidents that occurred following the practice of setting fire to waste. With the temperature rising, the blaze spread to nearby areas triggering panic in the affected area. Most of the cases of open burning of waste were reported from vacant plots or large parcels of uninhabited land both within the city and rural limits. A senior official of the department pointed out that fire calls recorded a spike amidst the scorching heat. There were over 1,000 calls to fire stations between January 1 and March 31 in 2023, according to official estimates.
The two incidents of fire at the dumping yard of the Kochi Corporation at Brahmapuram and behind the Maradu World Market at Nettoor on Wednesday brought back memories of the massive fire that occurred at Brahmapuram on March 2, 2023. Though the timely intervention by personnel of the Fire and Rescue Services helped in controlling the fire at both the spots, the incidents showed the need to step up fire preparedness in the current heat condition.
The Vigilance wing of the department had reported in January about shortcomings in the firefighting systems at Brahmapuram. It had cited the lack of proper access roads for fire tenders to move swiftly through the heaps of waste piled up at the site. The department had recommended setting up roads having a minimum width of 10 metre to ensure the smooth movement of fire tenders at the time of an emergency. The lack of adequate watch towers to spot a fire and initiate follow-up action without delay was also pointed out in the report.
“About 85% of the construction of access roads having a width of 10 metres has been completed. We hope to implement the remaining work soon. The present watch tower provided a clear view of the entire stretch of the area in which waste heaps are located and it was adequate in the present situation,” said V.E. Abbas, Deputy Collector in-charge of the District Disaster Management Authority.
