A major fire was averted, with the timely intervention of the Fire Department, at the Railway Exhibition Grounds near Thatchetlapalem here on Wednesday. The fire took place at the dumping yard, where East Coast Railway and the GVMC had dumped some of the trees that were uprooted during the cyclone Hudhud. The fire was detected at about 4.15 p.m. and the fire fighters reached the spot within 10 minutes.
Initially, we employed two fire fighting engines, but within an hour we increased it to 10. We also employed the sky-lift to reach the centre of the dump, said District Fire Officer R.G. Sundaram. The instance of major fire at the dumping grounds post cyclone has crossed 35.
In the last week of December, there was a huge fire at the dumping yard inside King George Hospital, which is located next to the Children’s Ward. The fire at Railway exhibition grounds was very close to the railway infrastructure, where it is believed that tonnes of diesel is stored. “If the authorities do not make effort to shift the dry wood, which is becoming a potential threat to the city with every passing day, then anything can happen. The threat is so grave that even a cigarette butt can start a major fire,” said the DFO.
