Fire breaks out in Coimbatore automobile spare parts shop

COIMBATORE: A three-storeyed automobile spare parts store on Rajarathinam Street at Kattoot near Gandhipuram in the city was completely destroyed in a fire on Friday evening.Though no casualties were reported, automobile parts, batteries and engine oils stored in the store were gutted in the blaze.Around 4pm, Madheshwari Auto Spares caught fire while workers were involved in welding work in the store, owned by Prakash from Rajasthan.Workers along with locals tried to put out the fire, but it rapidly spread to other parts of the building.On being informed, police and fire and rescue department personnel rushed to the spot. Six fire tenders, including one each from the airport and INS Agrani, and a hydraulic fire skylift vehicle were used in the firefighting operation.Residents in nearby buildings were evacuated as a precautionary measure. The power supply was also cut off in the area.According to the fire and rescue department, batteries and engine oil could be the reason for the fire to spread rapidly.The batteries exploded and fell on nearby buildings. Firefighters battled for more than three hours to bring the fire under control.District collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, city police commissioner N Kannan, corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran, mayor R Ranganayaki and deputy commissioner of N Devanathan visited the spot.The collector said, “The fire department brought not only water tankers but also chemical sprayers. There were no casualties in this incident. We will conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.”The city police commissioner said police and fire department personnel arrived at the spot as soon as they learnt about the accident.The commissioner said, “We evacuated people from more than 35 nearby houses. We also removed flammable materials like gas cylinders from the houses. Since chemical assistance was needed, Indian Air Force officials along with a foam extinguishing machine, were brought in by the Air Force.”