30 May 2011

Bantwal: Fire Guts Two Shops, Loss Put at Rs 2.15 Lac

Bantwal, May 28: Two shops at B C Road caught fire following a leak in an LPG cylinder. The loss has been estimated at Rs 2.15 lac.

Ganesh Canteen, in front of KSRTC bus stand, and Chitra Studio are the establishments that were damaged. Both are located in Vinayak Complex belonging to one Laxman Shetty. When Sudheendra Shetty, the owner of Ganesh Canteen, lit the gas the fire spread due to a leakage in the pipe.





Though the locals tried to douse the fire, their effort went in vain as the fire had already spread to the roof of the canteen. A refrigerator, table, vessels, and grocery items were burnt with the loss estimated at Rs 1.55 lac. The fire spread to the next shop which was Chitra Studio of Ramesh. It caught fire and the roof, computer, and tables were burnt. Here the loss was estimated Rs 60,000. Bantwal fire brigade rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire. Bantwal city police are investigating the case.

24 May 2011

Sullia: Two Youngsters Drown in Payasvini River

Sullia, May 24: In a tragic incident that occurred at Kerpala in the taluk on Monday May 23, two youngsters, who had ventured into River Payasvini to swim and beat the heat, drowned. They have been identified as Ajit (17) from Kerpala, and Adarsh (26) from Panja Bilimale. They were maternal cousins. Ajit, son of Bhageerath, working in the sub-registrar’s office in Mangalore, and Revati, a teacher in Kerpala school, had passed first year PUC from Nehru Memorial PU College here recently. Adarsh, son of Kusumadhar, a farmer from Panja Bilimale, was on a visit to the house of Revati, his aunt. The family of Adarsh was temporarily residing in a neighbouring house located on the bank of River Payasvini, as their old house was under thorough renovation. The two assisted in the renovation work, and wanted to have a swim before relaxing. It is learnt that both of them were not expert swimmers, and they drowned, unaware of the fact that deep pits were located in this part of the river. Both are survived by parents and a younger sister each. Fire department and home guards personnel later found the bodies of the youth from the river.

23 May 2011

Bantwal: Fire Breaks out in Bidi Factory, Loss Estimated at Rs 20 Lac

Bantwal, May 21: A loss of Rs 20 lac has been reported from a bidi factory which caught fire at around 2 am on Saturday May 21.





The factory belongs to a certain Prabhudas Kishoredas. Fire fighters from Bantwal, Puttur and Mangalore were rushed to the spot, but by the time the fire was put out, more than 34 lac bidis had been reduced to ashes. The fire first sparked off in the heating room where the bidis were stacked. Soon the entire stock was engulfed in the fire, causing damage to the roof also. It was the neighbours who first noticed the fire and alerted the fire service teams and the police in the middle of the night. Despite efforts by the fire fighting teams, the police and locals, not much could be salvaged.

21 May 2011

It's trial by fire for these daredevil commandos



From: Times of India, dated: 20-05-2011

Firefighters await Government nod for higher reward amount

MANGALORE: For Fire and Emergency Services personnel, the crash of Air India Express plane here about a year ago was another situation that they tackled. “Yes it was a painful incident. But we have moved ahead to tackle many more such situations. For us, each call is an emergency and we do our best to tackle it,” B.G. Chengappa, Director of Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services, has said. Mr. Chengappa was among the 106 personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services who were involved in the operation at the crash site. “They (personnel) did a good job and the then Director-General of Police (Fire and Emergency Services) Jija Hari Singh gave them a pat,” Mr. Chengappa told The Hindu. Ms. Singh sanctioned Rs. 10,000 as reward in appreciation of the work of firemen. This amount, Mr. Chengappa said, was distributed among all the personnel, with those responding early getting Rs. 150. A recommendation had been made to the government to sanction a total reward of Rs. 1 lakh covering 106 personnel, Mr. Chengappa said. In addition, six personnel involved in the operation were awarded the President's Medal and the Chief Minister's Medal for exemplary service, Mr. Chengappa said. On May 22, 2010, the Fire Control room received information about the plane crash at 6.15 a.m. The fire engines from the Kadri Fire Station rushed to the spot in 15 minutes. These fire engines joined those from the Mangalore airport that had reached the spot a few minutes early. Fire engines from other fire stations in the city and from surrounding areas such as Udupi, Moodbidri, Karkala, Puttur and Sullia were put into action. Twenty fire engines were involved in the operation. “We were able to extinguish the fire in 40 minutes,” said Regional Fire Officer C. Basavanna, who was involved in operation along with Chief Fire Officer H.S. Varadarajan. Among the odds that the firefighters faced was the access to the site. The narrow road to the crash site made it difficult to reach the spot. The firemen had to ask the police to stop other vehicles and only allow fire engines on the narrow road.

19 May 2011

Fire engulfs godown

Bangalore: A big fire ripped through a godown housing plastic pipes and other material near Poornima cinema near CKC Garden on J.C. Road here in the late hours of Wednesday. Nearly 60 men from the Fire and Emergency Services, with the help of 14 fire tenders, fought the flames for more than 90 minutes. None was injured in the accident. Though the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, Fire and Emergency Services officials suspected that it could be electrical short-circuit. According to Raghu Kumar, a resident, the fire broke out at 10.45 p.m. Alerted by the acrid smell and thick plumes of smoke emanating from the building, he called the Fire and Emergency Services. Investigation is on, though a police complaint is yet to be lodged.