A fire broke out among the hutments in Thousand Lights on Tuesday morning.No one was injured in the incident which damaged more than 30 huts on the banks of the Cooum river.
Sources with the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) said that the call reporting the fire at the river side on Kaliamman Koil Street, home for over 100 huts, was received at 11.40 a.m.
Five fire tenders with over 25 firemen from nearby fire stations including Egmore, Teynampet, Kilpauk and Vepery were rushed to the spot .
According to Francis Xavier, a resident of the hutments, the fire started around 11.10 a.m. in a hut in the corner of the settlement. “Residents, mainly youth, jumped into the Cooum river and started pouring water onto the burning thatched roofs in an attempt to douse the ragging flames,” said the 53-year-old whose house was among the charred ones.
As the fire started to spread to the other huts, residents started to swiftly remove their belongings from their homes to safety. However, residents like Tamizharasu and Chamundeshwari were some of the unlucky ones. “I lost all my belongings and the school certificates of my children. I don't even have a single paisa with me now,” lamented Chamundeshwari next to a skeletal structure, previously her home.
The fire was finally put out after a two-hour battle by firemen and residents of the hutments.
