Chennai: Fire breaks out at parking lot, 176 cars charred

Chennai: A massive fire broke out and spread across a parking lot in Porur that burnt as many as 176 cars on Sunday. This was the second major fire of parked cars over the weekend, with a fire destroying at least 300 cars in the Aero Show in Bengaluru on Saturday in Yelahanka.

The Chennai incident happened on Sunday at 2 pm and was brought under control by 5 pm after the efforts of 40 fire and rescue personnel.  Speaking to the press, District Fire Officer P Saravanan, said “Around 250 cars were parked in the lot, which is owned by businessman C. Sivasankaran who had invested in this private taxi service. The cars were parked in the land opposite a well-known city hospital for more than six months and many of them were disused vehicles.

Those in charge of the land should have taken care of the property by maintaining it regularly as dry leaves and wood had collected to a height of more than three feet in the car park, the fire service official said. The car park was engulfed in flames while thick columns of black smoke engulfed the entire area, much to the discomfiture of residents and passersby. Officials said the fire was likely started by dry grass catching fire and, aided by strong winds, it spread quickly. Firemen tried controlling the blaze by moving unaffected vehicles away from the fire zone. The cars were parked “bumper to bumper” in close proximity.
 
According to official fire service records, of a total of 208 cars parked, 176 cars were gutted completely in the fire, while 42 cars suffered minor burns and 32 escaped without a scratch.

C Sivasankaran, the founder of Aircel, had started the cab service ‘UTOO’ in Chennai in 2016. According to sources, the cab service had not been doing well for the past one year and only 30 of the cabs were running in the city. The others were sent to the parking lot for maintenance and never came back on road.

The police said that they are questioning the security personnel and have also summoned Sivasankaran as they could be some suspicion that the fire was intentionally started to claim insurance money since the taxi service has not been functioning for a long time.