Thiruvananthapuram: The drug warehouse which caught fire at the KINFRA Industrial Park here had neither obtained fire NOC nor made arrangements to extinguish the fire, stated Kerala Fire Force chief B Sandhya.
She added that the fire force department has carried out fire auditing in the building and directed concerned departments to initiate action.
Meanwhile, KINFRA Managing Director claimed that the building had obtained all statutory clearances and met all safety standards. Kerala Medical Services Corporation Managing Director Jeevan Babu also argued that the building was equipped with facilities including fire extinguisher.
Addressing the media, Thiruvananthapuram district collector Geromic George stated that a forensic examination will be carried out amid the allegations of sabotage in the accident. As per the preliminary assumption, bleaching powder stored in the building led to the fire accident. According to the officials, bleaching powder may catch fire due to extreme heat.
A massive fire erupted in the drug warehouse of Kerala Medical Services Corporation in the wee hours of Tuesday. A firefighter was also killed after a building block fell over him.
Ranjith (32), the deceased, was attached to the Chakka unit of the state Fire and Rescue Services. According to police, the tragedy happened when a portion of the fire-hit building collapsed over him crushing the hapless man while he was busy dousing the raging flames.
Fireman mourned
Condolences poured in from various quarters over the untimely death of the young fireman who lost his life in the line of duty.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, General Education and Labour Minister V Sivankutty and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan expressed grief over the tragedy.
In a message, the Chief Minister said he conveyed his condolence to Ranjith’s family members.
Minister Sivankutty, in a Facebook post, said the fire in the building was “unfortunate” and the government would carry out a probe into the incident.
Ranjith and his fellow firemen had rushed to the KINFRA Industrial Park, near Thumba, after being alerted about a major fire that erupted in the warehouse there.
Last week, another warehouse of the KMSCL was gutted in fire in Kollam district following which Health Minister Veena George had ordered a probe.
(with PTI inputs)