A major fire broke out on the grasslands near Mangalavanam bird sanctuary just hours after the fire at Brahmapuram waste treatment plant was doused.
The fire reportedly occurred on Saturday around 4.30 pm on the unused land under the control of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The case is being treated as a forest fire, officials told Times of India.
The fire was first spotted by children who were playing at a nearby ground and noticed thick smoke from the grasslands. Around two units of fire tenders rushed to douse the flames.
But even before the fire force could reach the location, the fire quickly spread. The Fire and Rescue Service personnel managed to put out the blaze before a fueling station nearby could be engulfed by the flames.
Meanwhile DGP A Hemachandran, the commandant general of fire and rescue services, said that the frequency of fires in the state should be investigated for evidence of suspicious causes.
"Several buildings are functioning without fire safety measures, action should be taken such buildings. Though the state has progressed in other fields, the facilities of the fires and rescue force have not been adequate," he said, according to Mathrubhumi.
It has also been reported that Kerala’s Fire and Rescue Department will soon launch a drive to target buildings that are violating the conditions laid out in the no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the department. Those buildings will be booked under the Disaster Management Act. The drive is a joint initiative of the local body concerned and the disaster management department.
On Friday, a massive fire broke out at the the Brahmapuram waste management plant in Kochi and the smoke engulfed the city for hours.
Another fire broke out at the six-storied building of Paragon footwear godown at Chittoor road in Kochi.