Kerala fireman dies while dousing blaze at govt godown

Thiruvananthapuram: In a tragic incident, a 33-year-old fireman died while dousing a massive fire that broke out at a godown of the state run Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) located in the capital city outskirts on Tuesday.

KMSCL officials feared a loss of over Rs one crore and it was after several hours the fire was completely doused.

Locals said that they were woken up by a huge sound and later realised that a fire had broken out at the godown.

J.S. Renjith, the fireman attached to the Chackai Fire Force Station, near the international airport arrived around 1.30 p.m. at the godown. Due to the impact of the blaze, a portion of the godown fell on him.

Though his colleagues rushed him to the hospital, he could not be saved.

Meanwhile, eyebrows have been raised as the godown was stacked with chemicals besides medicines, a good portion of which had expired for use.

However,the MD of KMSCL, Jeevan Babu said that at the moment they do not suspect any foul play.

“A probe will take place and directions were given to separate the chemicals that were stored in the godown,” said Babu.

Incidentally, a similar fire had broken out at the KMSCL Kollam warehouse last week and had caused a loss of Rs eight crore.