Fires fuel fear on Broadway

KOCHI:  A major fire that broke out in a shop on Broadway on Tuesday night has sparked concerns over the lack of safety measures in the area, considering that it was the second such incident occurring in less than a year. “Everything in the shop burnt down. Materials worth Rs 5 lakh were destroyed completely,” said the manager of the shop that caught fire. In both incidents, short-circuit had been the culprit. The most conspicuously lacking safety measure on Broadway is that none of the shops in the area have a fire extinguisher or any other means to put out even a small fire. Shopkeepers in the area said that the unscientific parking on Broadway increases the trouble since emergency vehicles cannot easily access the site of fire. “When a fire breaks out on Broadway market area, fire engines or ambulances cannot enter the area easily since all the roads are blocked by vehicles parked in a zigzag manner,” said Shaji K A, general secretary, Kerala Merchants Union. “Moreover, almost all the shops in the area are very old. And so are the electric wires used in them. That is why so many short circuits are occurring. But it is almost impossible to change all the electric wires in all the shops,” he added.“Since the shops on Broadway are closely packed, any small fire would easily spread to the nearby shops. Moreover, almost all the shops contain easily inflammable materials. This increases the danger level of fire mishaps in the area,” said the station officer at the Gandhi Nagar Fire Station. “Another issue is the lack of availability of water and there are no hydrants in the place either. This is extremely dangerous since fire fighters usually rely on them when the fire engines run out of water,” he added.