Kodungaiyur fire: firefighter dead, 47 injured

What should have otherwise ended up as another minor fire accident, the one at Kodungaiyur turned out to be a major calamity, injuring close to 50 people and killing one, late on Saturday night, largely due to the selfie- craze of onlookers.

Cops and firefighters said they had a tough time controlling the ‘eager’ crowd, impeding their job of fighting the fire. Sources said that had SSI Vimalesh not scared people who had gathered either to click selifies or record videos, and chased them away, the number of injured could have been higher. 

“Within seconds after he sent people away, the LPG cylinders exploded. Those who stayed put, even after repeated warnings, were injured,” a police official said. “The cylinders kept inside must have been under huge pressure due to the heat and when the shop was opened, it should have burst,” said another police official. 

Police, fire personnel and onlookers totalling 47, are being treated for injuries at Kilpauk, Stanley, RGGGH and private hospitals. Among the injured police personnel are Head Constable Purushothaman, Constables Jayaprakash and Anthony. While firefighter Rajadurai remained unconscious, Lakshmanan was severely injured while Jayapal is reportedly improving. 

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who visited the Kilpauk and Stanley Hospitals, promised compensation the victims of the fire accident from the CM’s Relief Fund. Palaniswami said the family would receive Rs 3 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and an additional Rs 10 lakh towards solatium from the state. “The kin of the family would be offered a job in the state government on compassionate grounds, as a special case. I was told Ekaraj’s son had completed MBA,” the CM said, addressing the media. Palaniswami, who dismissed allegations that  lack of any firefighting equipment resulted in the fatal accident as rumours, maintained that the TNFRS is well-equipped. Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told media persons that 22 medical teams were deployed to treat the injured in all five hospitals. City Commissioner of Police A K Viswanathan and Additional Commissioner Sarangan also met the accident victims at Stanley Hospital.