Minor fire breaks out at Margao school housing strong room

COLVA: A fire broke out in the biology laboratory of Multipurpose Higher Secondary School at Borda , Margao , on Friday evening. The fire led to panic as the building housing the laboratory is adjacent to the one housing the strong room where EVMs used in the South Goa parliamentary election and the Shiroda constituency election have been stored.

Security personnel at the strong room noticed smoke emitting out of a window on the second floor of the adjoining building and alerted officials. Executive magistrate, Uday Prabhudessai, who is in-charge of the strong room opened the laboratory to enable fire personnel to extinguish the fire. The cause is said to be a short circuit in the refrigeration unit.

The fire was extinguished using three cannisters of dry chemical powder, a cylinder of carbon-dioxide and half a tank of water from the tender rushed to the site from the Margao fire station.

A fire tender dedicated to the strong room is also stationed outside the premised to deal with fire eventualities, officials said.

Later, South Goa collector Ajit Roy and superintendent of police Arvind Gawas inspected the premises.

Reacting to the incident, Congress members said it may be an act of arson aimed at tampering with the machines or making them malfunction. They have demanded that representatives of all candidates be permitted to inspect the strong room in the presence of the returning officer to ascertain that no damages have occurred.