Major fire breaks out in timber depot in Pettai

Fire and Rescue Services personnel putting out flames in the timber godown at Pettai in Tirunelveli on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN

A major fire that broke out in a timber depot on Saturday night destroyed timber, furniture and other construction materials. Seven fire tenders from various parts of Tirunelveli district fought for more than 15 hours to put out the flames.

According to Fire and Rescue Services sources, the fire was first noticed at around 10 p.m. at the timber depot belonging to Maideen Pitchai, 45, located near the railway gate in Pettai on Cheranmahadevi Road.

Passers-by had alerted the firemen.

Since the fire tender from Pettai fire station had gone for stand-by duty at a temple function, fire tender from Cheranmahadevi, led by Station Officer, N. Palavesam, rushed to the spot. However, the fire by then had spread across the depot.

Later, fire tenders from Gangaikondan, Pettai and Palayamkottai joined the firemen from Cheranmahadevi.

The depot had readymade doors, windows and logs along with construction materials like PVC pipes, cement in stock.

The firemen led by Assistant District Fire Officers, P. Karthikeyan and S. Vettumperumal, fought throughout the night and the fire could be put out only around 3 p.m.

Short-circuit in power supply is suspected to have caused the fire.

Lack of fire-detecting sensors and water hydrants led to the fire destroying materials worth several lakhs.