Kochi: In the wake of the devastating fire at the historic heritage building Koder House, the fire force department has decided to conduct a fire audit at Fort Kochi, which has numerous heritage buildings dating back to the Dutch, Portuguese and British eras. The auditing is expected to start on Monday.
Some are still standing at a few places,” a 70-year-old resident, C E Walton, said. When a fire is reported in Fort Kochi, it is difficult for fire engines to reach from the city.
A ring main system, like those in industrial areas, will be implemented in Fort Kochi as a permanent system, according to a senior fire force official. The residents can use the pumps for dousing a fire,” the official said. A permanent firefighting system will address the crisis,” he said. There are many heritage buildings standing near small byroads, where fire engines do not have access, making matters worse during a fire incident,” said Sohan. The fire force official said they had prepared and submitted a similar fire audit report of the heritage zones in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry to the corporation earlier, but in vain as no action has been taken so far.
As the buildings with centuries-old heavy wooden interiors are highly combustible, and situated close to each other, there is a strong demand from owners to conduct a fire audit and implement measures to prevent such incidents in future. “The heritage buildings in Fort Kochi do not have facilities to install a fire-extinguishing mechanism. Hence, the area needs a common and permanent fire protection mechanism like a ring main system as in other countries where a water tank with a fire pump house is installed. “A proposal for firefighting measures surfaced as part of the beautification works of Cochin Smart Mission Ltd in Fort Kochi. But it did not materialise. “There were water tanks with a height of six feet in Fort Kochi for a firefighting mechanism. However, with the fire force training camp coming into existence on Santa Cruz Road, the functioning of the water tanks ceased to exist. “Even five to eight such tanks still exist in Fort Kochi and they remain unused. An old fire hydrant is still standing in Amaravati. When Koder House caught fire, the fire force was not prepared to handle it.
Elderly people in the area recollect that a similar fire protection system was in place earlier.