Vehicles belonged to defunct call taxi company and were parked in open ground

A day after close to 300 cars were gutted at the Aero India 2019 show in Bengaluru, over 170 cars belonging to a defunct call taxi company, parked in an open ground at Porur in Chennai, were destroyed in a fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon.

The situation was brought under control by 4 p.m. and a case was registered at the Porur police station.

Preliminary investigations reveal that it may have been an accidental fire. However, the police are not ruling out the possibility of miscreants setting fire to the dry grass in the ground.

Unused for two years

According to the police, nearly 250 cars, lying unused for the past two years, belonged to a now defunct call taxi company ‘UToo.’ They were parked opposite the Sri Ramachandra Hospital. Around 1.45 p.m., the watchman at the ground spotted the fire and alerted the company management.

“He called at 1.59 p.m. and I was trying to reach the fire control room at 101 but could not reach them. We did not get the support on time,” alleged Vaidehi, a representative of the company that owns the cars.

By then thick smoke engulfed the locality and residents panicked. Some motorists contacted the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) Control Room and six fire tenders were rushed to the spot along with six water tankers. Thirty TNFRS personnel fought the fire and doused it by 4 p.m.

Cars destroyed in a fire at a private car parking lot in Porur, Chennai on Sunday. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

“All of us panicked seeing the thick smoke as the hospital is situated right opposite the ground. However the situation was brought under control at the earliest. Many residents complained of pungent smell and burning sensation in the eye,” said a police officer.

Kancheepuram Collector P. Ponniah inspected the ground and the damaged cars. “The cars were lying unused for the past two years after the owner incurred losses in the call taxi business. Apart from the cars parked here, around 25 cabs are operating as call-taxis,” he said.

Senior police officers also visited the spot and said that a case would be registered.

Nagarajan, director of the call taxi company, said they do not know how the fire started.