Panic after paper warehouse near school goes up in flames

Around 8 am on Thursday, passers-by noticed smoke emanating from the paper godown on Thyagappa Chetty street, which reportedly belongs to Sarvodaya Paper Industries. Soon, the entire godown, situated right next to a government-aided school, was up in flames.

By then, students had already arrived at the school. Sensing the danger, the school administration sent them home and alerted the fire control room. As many as 35 Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) personnel from Tondiarpet, Korukkupet and Vyasarpadi rushed to the spot. As the shutters were down, the personnel broke open the windows to put out the fire. Finally, it was brought under control by afternoon.

A fire officer told DT Next that the godown had stored newsprint, adding that the exact cause of the fire was not known. Korukkupet police have registered a case and further investigation is going on.

Cars burnt in Kothavalchavadi

Similarly, two cars parked in a private parking lot in Kothavalchavai mysteriously went up in flames in the wee hours of Thursday. The cars — Hyundai Creta and Mahindra XUV — belong to S Mahaveer (39) of Narayna Mudhali street and B Jagadeesh (26) of Palliyappan street respectively, and had been parked at a private parking lot on Manikanda Mudhali street and owned by V Sureshkumar (55). Around 2.30 am, the two cars suddenly caught fire. On information,

TNFRS personnel from Tondiarpet fire station rushed to the spot and put out the fire around 4 am. Though they prevented fire from spreading to other vehicles, the two cars had to be completely gutted. Kothavalchavadi police have registered a case and further investigation is going on.