KOCHI: Narrow lanes and ongoing Metro work posed challenges for the firefighting teams to reach Kalathilparambil Road, where a six-storey building housing a footwear godown caught fire on Wednesday morning. Firefighters also sought service of trucks carrying drinking water and used water from a nearby well and the tank of a residential apartment to douse the blaze.“It was difficult for large fire tenders to take diversion towards the end of south overbridge. Besides, we were forced to wait for JCB to remove the bricks piled at the end of Kalathilparambil Road to reach the spot,” said assistant divisional officer of fire force in Ernakulam V Sidhakumar.Fire force used high-pressure motor to pump water from a nearby well. Three other firefighting points were at the top of the residential apartment building nearby. Around 300 fire force personnel and more than 60 fire tenders reached the spot.“We filled the tank of the nearby residential apartment several times and used thw water to douse the fire. We could not reverse the fire engines as the road is narrow. When a fire tender gets empty, we drive it forward and brought another fire tender in place of it,” said Sidhakumar.“I heard commotion of people and big thud of scraps dumping on the truck. When I went to see the source of commotion, I saw people rushing down the building, which caught fire. I also took a bag carrying documents and came out of our apartment,” Suresh Vincent, a resident.“Companies functioning in the area should be extra cautious as the roads are narrow,” said Krishnakumar, treasurer of Govinda Apartment residents’ association.

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