Fire at a furniture workshop in Konchady caused anxiety among students of a neighbouring unaided school on Monday.
The fire was noticed in the 2,400 sq ft workshop around 1 p.m. According to eyewitnesses, wood and other combustible material in the workshop caught fire in minutes. The heat of the fire was such that a coconut tree near the premises started to burn.
This caused anxiety among the 300-odd students of the neighbouring Indira Gandhi School as smoke started to fill classrooms. Fire and Emergency Services personnel arrived at the spot around 1.30 p.m. While one group of personnel joined teachers and other school staff to bring students out of the classrooms safely, another group of firemen put out the fire.
Narrow road
An officer from the Fire and Emergency Services Department said the narrow road to the place of fire made it difficult to take fire engines to the spot. As many as three fire engines had been sent. These fire engines were parked on the main road, which was 500 m away from workshop. By connecting a long hose to the fire engine, the firemen poured water to put out the fire in the workshop.
