KOCHI: A preliminary inquiry into the fire breakout in the six-storey building housing a footwear godown near Ernakulam Junction railway station on Wednesday has found that the company had converted a residential building into a godown.They had secured fire NOC in 2006 for residential purpose. The company, later converted the building into a godown but failed to secure an NOC for the warehouse from the fire & rescue department.This was found in the probe conducted by an inquiry commission comprising senior fire force officials. A report will be submitted to the director general of fire and rescue services department on Friday.The commission, comprising regional fire officers in Ernakulam and Kottayam, in its report said that the fire in the godown of the footwear company, Paragon, ripped the building around 11am on Wednesday and took around five hours to douse it.“When a building houses a godown, additional fire protection has to be provided. The fire detection system and sprinklers were insufficient in the building. We will submit the report pointing out the deficiencies of fire safety in the building,” said Ernakulam regional fire officer P Dileepan.The report notes that the aluminium panels placed around the building had posed hindrance to firefighters, making it difficult to pump water inside the building.Meanwhile, fire and rescue officials who visited the spot on Thursday said that they believe that the fire in the building could have been started from the area where a transformer was installed on the first floor.“However, the exact cause will be known once officials from electrical inspectorate inspect the place on Friday,” said an official.Major cracks have developed in the building, raising concern about its stability. Building section of public works department would examine the building.Kerala state pollution control board (KSPCB) officials also visited the fire mishap site and collected samples of ashes for testing. It will be tested at the regional analytical laboratory of KSPCB at Kadavanthra.“We have submitted a report to the headquarters on the events here. The godown does not have a board certificate of consent, which is mandatory. Also, whenever there is an accident, we must be alerted immediately. Even that has not happened,” said KSPCB chief environmental engineer (central region) M A Baiju.He said that carbon monoxide (CO) levels were found very high, almost 20m away from the site. But winds and hot sun helped to ensure that the CO levels didn’t last long. Notice will be issued under the Air Act, 1981, he said.Following the fire mishap, corporation authorities have asked superintending engineer of the local body to conduct an inquiry into the issues such as whether the building had necessary permits.Corporation town planning committee chairperson Shiny Mathew said that the “building owner had got permits for five-storey building”. It is learnt that vigilance is conducting an inquiry into the incident.

Stay updated with all the Latest Kochi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.