A huge fire reportedly engulfed a hillock at Chapoli, a few kilometers from the Chapoli dam in Canacona. It is learnt that fire tenders were placed along a nearby road as it could not gain access to the site of the fire. Fire tenders went to the site and found out that the fire was raging somewhere deep in the jungle. The forest area atop the Paroda hillock has reportedly been engulfed by fire for the last two days. The fire is believed to have spread to the hillock since the fire brigade cannot reach the site due to inaccessible terrain. This emphasizes the need for fire departments to have adequate number of mini fire-tenders besides the usual fire-brigades. The fully-equipped mini fire-tender is not only expected to provide the fire station with the much-needed machinery to tackle fire and emergency incidents, but the smaller vehicle would be ideal to pass along the narrow and winding roads. Given the number of forest fires that have been reported in the state of late which have destroyed flora and fauna, the state government could even consider procuring a fire-fighting helicopter.
