Fire breaks out on hill, doused after hours

Trichy: A grass fire erupted on a hill near Thuvarankurichi in Trichy district on Thursday night. There were no reports of loss of wildlife. Fire service personnel managed to extinguish the blaze after three hours of effort.The hill is situated close to Goundampatti village in Marungapuri block of Trichy district. Around 9.30pm, the Thuvarankurichi fire station received an alert about the fire.A team of six firefighters arrived at the village in a fire truck, but the rough terrain prevented the vehicle from reaching the hill. The team therefore walked approximately 200m to the site, wearing personal protective suits.According to the personnel, lemongrass covering much of the hill was primarily what was burning. Due to challenges in extending hoses from the truck to the fire location, they explored alternative methods to control the flames.With assistance from about 10 forest department personnel, the firefighters uprooted nearby shrubs and plants, gathered them into heaps, and used these to prevent the fire from spreading further.The team successfully put out the fire by around 1am. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Officials suspect that some locals may have intentionally started it to protect their crops from being damaged or invaded by gaurs.