Grandpass Police said more than 285 persons in 65 families have been affected by the fire that broke out in Kajeemawatta flats in Thotalanga, Grandpass last Tuesday (27).
Among the affected are 101 children and 86 women.
Due to the fire, 54 houses have been completely destroyed while 11 houses have been partly damaged.
The affected are given temporary shelter at Kelani Nadhee Viharaya and at the community hall of the Muwadora Uyana housing scheme.
Police stated that there are 280 houses in Kajeemawatta and swift measures taken by the fire brigade prevented the tragedy from escalating. The Government Analyst began investigations yesterday. In addition, Colombo North Police is investigating.
According to sources, there have been two similar cases in the same location caused by electrical leakages. Police noted that some of the houses in Kajeemawatta do not have power supply and the house owners get electricity via illegal power supply from nearby public lamp posts. This has led to both previous fires that broke out at Kajeemawatta, police also said. Police also pointed out that 120 persons have been arrested in joint operations with the Ceylon Electricity Board back in March 2022.
Police said that no clear cause has been discovered as of yet. Investigators suspect that stored fuel, use of unsafe kerosene oil lamps or electricity leakage may have caused the fire. According to investigations, the fire has spread due to the windy weather condition that had prevailed when the fire broke out.
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