Major fire broke out at the godown of Paragon footwear near the Ernakulam South railway station in Kochi on Wednesday. Fire force units were rushed to the spot and efforts were on to bring the fire under control.
Though 18 fire tenders were at the spot, fire department officials said that the flames were difficult to control. They have hence requested help from the Navy. Officials said that as they were finding it difficult to douse the flames their priority was to prevent it from spreading to other buildings nearby.
The building, which is five-storeys high and stores footwears, was completely covered in smoke. Fire seems to have started in the fourth floor and quickly spread to other floors. Smoke from the rubber products has made dousing efforts difficult.
Videos showed smoke billowing out through the cracks of the makeshift walls of the building. As a precautionary measure the electricity supply to the area was cut.
As the fire continued to rage, the nearby buildings were evacuated. Metro work, which is happening quite close to the spot, was halted. Rail traffic was not been affected.
Sounds of small explosions were heard from the building as the rubber products continued to burn. Though four fire tenders had reached the spot initially, additional units were deployed as the fire continued to grow.
Officials believe nobody is trapped in the building and that a short circuit resulted in the fire.
