Team Herald
VASCO: The Communication room at the Dabolim International Airport was completely gutted in a fire which was reportedly caused by a short-circuit on Monday evening.
The fire at the new terminal building also partially destroyed the UPS room. All the announcements at the Airport were also affected with the wires of CCTV destroyed in the fire.
A portion of the false ceiling inside the communication room also collapsed due to constant seepage of rain water.
According to the information, the fire was reported at about 7.20 pm when the rain water from the air conditioning duct got accumulated over the false ceiling and leaked over the electrical switch.
With no one noticing the water leaking, there was sudden spark in the communication room which started the fire. All the main wires, including those of the CCTV control, announcement and even the flight timing display, were burnt. Similarly even the UPS room, which is attached to the communication room, suffered some damages due to leaking of rain water from the false ceiling.
“We were working in our counters when we heard some fire alarm from the Communication room which is located opposite to ‘Go Airways’ check-in counter. When we rushed inside we discovered that all communication wires were burning while a portion of false ceiling inside the room had collapsed,” a private airline staff told Herald.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials intimated the fire team. However, the fire stopped by itself because of the continuous water dripping from the false ceiling but by then all the main wires were reportedly already destroyed.
Due to the fire, all communication networks, including passenger announcement control, CCTV and other important control system stopped functioning. Efforts are now being made to replace the burnt wires and restart the control room.
Meanwhile when Herald contacted AAI Director Bhupesh CH Negi, admitting there was a problem, he said; “Yes there has been some problem with regards to leaking of rain water from the false ceiling in the communication room”.
“However, the situation is under control. We are trying to investigate the source of the rain water,” he said.
“Everything is fine, there is no need to worry,” Negi said when asked if a portion of the false ceiling in the communication room had collapsed.
The new terminal building was inaugurated in December 2013. It is an integrated facility which handles both domestic and international operations.
Constructed at the cost of Rs 345 crore, the building can handle peak-hour passenger traffic of 2,750 at a time.
