Battery shop gutted in fire in Kochi

A battery shop was gutted and two other adjacent shops partly at Palarivattom in a fire on Tuesday around 8.45 p.m.

The battery shop near the Spices Board office was the one where the fire was noticed first by local residents who alerted the fire and rescue services. Shortly, it spread to two other shops.

A unit from the Gandhi Nagar fire station rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control in around 20 minutes. Since the shops were along the national highway bypass, motorists passing through the area turned anxious on seeing the fire.

There were more shops in the neighbourhood, and the challenge was to control the fire from spreading further, said rescue personnel. Preliminary assessment suggested short circuit as the reason for the fire.

A team led by Assistant Station Officer, Gandhinagar, V.V. Babu led the firefighting operations.