Godown, six huts gutted in major fire

A major fire destroyed six huts and a large godown of a plastic waste-collection factory in Annai Indira Nagar, Vyasarpadi on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.

Police suspect an electrical short circuit in the godown led to the outbreak.

According to police, around 5.30 a.m., a few residents spotted the fire in the godown and alerted other residents in the neighbourhood. The police and fire service were then informed, but before they arrived, a group of residents tried to put out the fire by dousing it with water. However, the blaze spread to a nearby residential area and destroyed six huts.

A team of fire fighters led by the assistant district fire officer, D. Devadaran, from Vyasarpadi, Sathyamurthy Nagar, Korrukupettai and Esplanade then arrived, and after more than three hours, managed to put the fire out.

Annai Indira Nagar is mainly occupied by slum dwellers, and there are more than 500 huts lining the Coovam river here.

Wednesday’s fire was the second such incident in the recent past, with the last one occurring on February 28 on Pappathi Amman Koil Street, Kodungaiyur.