Fire doused near Taleigao school

Panaji: A dry grass fire erupted at the fields near St Michael School at Taleigao on Tuesday. The fire almost reached an electrical pole, but was contained by firefighters from the Panaji fire station.

No injuries or fatalities were reported. A fire officer from the Panaji fire station said that they received a call at 9.57am. A fire tender reached the site within 5-7 minutes. The fire was brought under control within an hour. There were thick fumes of smoke, causing near-zero visibility on the streets.While the cause of the fire is not known, a fire officer suspects a case of arson. “We have been getting calls from the same site around this time for the past two to three years. Last year, the fire spread close to the residential areas, and we had to evacuate the people from the nearby buildings,” the officer said. tnn