PANAJI/MARGAO
As many as 33 cars valued at crores of rupees were gutted in a major fire at a car service centre in the Verna Industrial Estate (VIE) on Tuesday evening.
According to reports, the 33 cars, including one demo car, were parked in an open space outside the car service centre.
Firefighters said most cars had come in for a service while some of them were new cars ready for deliveries to customers.
At about 3 pm, dried grass near the service centre caught fire and the flames soon spread to the parked vehicles. Workers of a nearby furniture factory rushed there and tried to extinguish the fire by spraying water from a tanker. When attempts to control the fire failed, the owner of the furniture factory notified the fire station.
With the strong wind and fuel in the cars, all 33 vehicles were soon engulfed in flames.
A fire brigade rushed to the site, but when it became apparent that additional fire tenders were needed, fire tenders from Vasco, Verna, Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Curchorem and the Fire Headquarters at Panaji were pressed into service to battle the inferno.
Firefighting equipment from private establishments in the VIE was also utilised.
The fuel in the vehicles prolonged the firefighting operations. After about two-and-half hours, the fire was finally brought under control. It is understood that the generator of a company was also damaged in the fire.
Divisional Fire Officer, Francisco Mendes informed that the companies are yet to submit the estimated loss of property.
“There may be a handful of accident vehicles in the lot, but our information suggests that most of the vehicles were either awaiting servicing or the servicing was already done”, he said.
Mendes said the fire services managed to stop the fire from spreading to the adjoining units, including a furniture unit located just a stone throw from the spot.
According to an initial estimate, the damages to the vehicles and other property would be in crores of rupees. Police conducted a panchanama into the incident.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Everson Vales said the fire incident should come as an eye opener for the IDC and the government authorities. Given the number of manufacturing units housed at the Verna Industrial estate, the district should immediately put in place a disaster management plan at Verna.
