Carelessness triggering fire incidents

KOCHI: The Mangalavanam fire incident that scared Kochiites out of their wits on Sunday night, has raised major concerns among the Fire and Rescue Department.Sunday night’s incident was the ninth such case in the city in March alone. “With the dry season setting in, there have been increasing number of incidents of dry grass and accumulated garbage at vacant plots catching fire. Most of the time, the fire is triggered by the locals in an attempt to get rid of the waste or dry grass. But when it gets out of control, they call the Fire and Rescue Department,” said Joe Kuruvila Easo, Divisional Fire Officer.Officials with the Fire and Rescue Department revealed that there have been 76 reported incidents of fire in January and February. “Thankfully, only few of them caused property damage. However, most of the times, major disasters were averted by prompt action taken by the department. In case of the Mangalavanam incident, there was a BPCL fuel station in the path of the raging fire. The fire could be controlled only because the locals and police fought hand-in-hand with the fire department,” said Fire and Rescue Department staff. However, they added that more such incidents are expected to happen in the coming days. “In any residential area, a vacant plot usually becomes the local dump yard. When the waste heaps up, the residents set it on fire. The dry environment, along with strong winds, turns it into an inferno. Another aspect is that heaps of bio-degradable waste contain a lot of methane, which further feeds the fire,” the officials said.Joel Kuruvila said that although such incidents cannot be completely avoided, certain precautions from the side of the public can prevent fire mishaps to a large extent. “People should follow proper waste disposal methods and avoid setting fire to heaps of garbage. Another important step is to chop off the overgrown grass rather than setting it on fire,” he added.