Brahmapuram fire not yet fully doused even after two days

The Navy deploys Advance Light Helicopter for firefighting and carries out more than eight trips to spray over 5,000 litres of water on the active fire zone; collection of waste from households temporarily suspended

Notwithstanding the efforts of multiple agencies over two days, the fire that broke out in heaps of plastic waste dumped in Kochi Corporation’s solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram on Thursday evening was not yet fully doused on Saturday.

The Navy deployed its Advance Light Helicopter for firefighting and carried out more than eight trips spraying over 5,000 litres of water on the active fire zone till Saturday evening. The district administration was actively considering seeking the help of the Air Force as well.

Kochi Corporation had to temporarily suspend collection of waste from households since lorries cannot approach the plant in the prevailing circumstances. Though Mayor M. Anilkumar had expressed optimism of dousing the fire and bringing the situation under control by Saturday evening, it proved far-fetched in the end.

The active fire zone, which kept spreading across 40-odd acres, was divided into six sectors and were assigned to the Navy, BPCL, and Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, which deployed over 20 fire tenders and over 120 fire fighters from its various units in Ernakulam, Kottayam and Thrissur district. Many firefighters complained of uneasiness, including vomiting and dizziness, owing to their constant exposure to a potentially toxic air.

Cracking the whip on Kochi Corporation, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board has slapped the civic body with a fine of ₹1.80 crore towards environment compensation for repeatedly violating the norms under the Solid Waste Management Rules. The fine based on damage assessment will follow shortly. Besides, prosecution measures will also be initiated against the civic body. 

For the second day running, many parts of the city and suburbs around the plant were engulfed in thick fumes of smoke with the smell of burnt plastic permeating all over. People in the affected areas were highly critical of Kochi Corporation for its failure to prevent such massive fire breakouts, which they said have become a yearly phenomenon during February-March. This was the fifth year running that at least one major fire was reported at the Brahmapuram plant.