The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Fire at printing press causes damage in crores

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Sunday, Sep 27, 2009
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Fire at printing press causes damage in crores

Staff Reporter

Short circuit triggered blaze; entire printing unit destroyed

Photo: S. Gopakumar

After the blaze: A view of the offset press at Manvila in Thiruvananthapuram which was destroyed in fire on Saturday. –

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: School textbooks and printing equipment worth crores was destroyed in the wee hours of Saturday when a fire that broke out in an offset press in Manvila gutted the entire building.

According to the police, the fire broke out around 12.30 a.m. and soon raged through the 16,000-sq.ft. printing press, stacked with hundreds of textbooks for higher secondary students.

B.S. Sajimon, Sub Inspector of Police, Kazhakkuttom, said a short circuit in the wiring set off the fire. “It was preceded by a period of frequent power outages and voltage fluctuations,” said Mr. Sajimon.

Four members of the printing unit, including a security guard, who were inside the building at the time of the blaze escaped unhurt.

The employees, who had gone to sleep after switching off the printing press following frequent power disruptions, were awakened by the dry heat of the blaze inside the building. They immediately alerted the Fire Services and the local police station.

However, by the time the first fire-fighting unit reached the site, the fire had spread, abetted by the tinder dry conditions inside the building.

With the building chock-a-bloc with tonnes of books and papers, battling the flames proved to be a tall order.

Twenty-five fire-fighting units from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam eventually extinguished the fire by Saturday afternoon.

V.K. Shaji, secretary, Association of Industries, Manvila, said the entire printing unit was destroyed. The loss is estimated at Rs. 6 crore.

A portion of the building had to be knocked off to assist the fire service personnel, he said.

On textbooks

Meanwhile, C.P. Chithra, Director of Higher Secondary Education, told The Hindu that the textbooks destroyed in the fire were not meant for distribution.

“We have already distributed textbooks for students in Plus One and Plus Two for the current academic year,” she said.

Later in the day Minister for Education and Culture M.A. Baby visited the site and interacted with the management and staff of the printing unit.

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