Fire at TVM school: Loud blast woke residents; blaze began from van, say officials

A loud blast around 2.30 am on Monday jolted awake residents who live near the Trivandrum Scottish School in Thudanthil, Kariavattom. Aseen, who lives with his family just 20 metres from the main gate, looked out his window to see thick smoke and flames rising from the school premises.

"I could see a huge blaze inside the premises. I rushed towards the school gate, which was locked. The security guard was nowhere visible, and we were worried about him. The fire kept building and we could hear sounds of things exploding," he said.

He alerted the fire station and the school manager. "By then, the guard, who was on the other side of the building, came rushing out and unlocked the gate. The fire force and the school principal, Pankajam, who was alerted by the school manager, arrived within 15 minutes. But two buses and a van were gutted. The fire force team worked to save a fourth bus, which had started to catch fire," he added.

Huge clouds of smoke enveloped the densely populated area, which has several houses and villas. "Around three to four families came outside because of the noise," Aseen said. People were worried that the fire would spread, but the fire force quickly contained the flames. No other property sustained damage, he added.

Kazhakootam police will register a case based on statements from the school authorities. Sub Inspector of Police Midhun J S said that so far, there is no evidence indicating what caused the fire. "The school did not have any CCTV cameras. Nearby CCTV footage will be examined. Only after forensic examination and other procedures can we determine the cause of the fire," the officer said.

Residents, fire officials and local leaders pointed out that the positioning of the vehicles raised suspicion. Of the vehicles that were gutted, the van appeared to have rammed into one of the buses.

According to the security guard, all vehicles were parked on Friday. "The van was parked 10 metres away from the school bus. On Saturday and Sunday, there were no classes, so the buses were not used. The keys were inside the dashboard as well," he said.

However, when fire officials from Kazhakootam and Chackai reached the spot, the van was positioned perpendicular to the school bus. "The fire clearly originated from the van and later spread to the other buses. It appears someone might have pushed the van towards them," a fire force officer from Kazhakootam station said.

Former Chempazhanthy ward member Chempazhanthy Udayan said the van was positioned as if someone had driven it into the buses. "But there are no CCTV cameras at the school to confirm this immediately," he added.