TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: It took more than an hour for the fire brigade from the Verna fire station to reach Per-Seraulim, where a house was gutted in a fire on Sunday morning.
Locals raised the questions as to why the Verna fire brigade turned out for the fire fighting operations when the Margao fire station is closer to Seraulim and can be reached within minutes.
Herald inquiries have revealed that of the two fire tenders at the disposal of the Margao fire station, only one is in running condition, while the second tender lies idle since the last two days due to a battery problem.
Sources in the know said the lone fire tender at the disposal of the Margao fire station was dispatched to clean up the Margao police Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav area when the fire call came from Seraulim. Since the lone fire tender was pre-occupied with the work of cleaning up the mandap, the Margao fire brigade got in touch with their Verna counterparts at around 11.46 am, but the house was destroyed in the fire before the Verna tender could reach Per-Seraulim.
