Elderly Couple Had Close Shave As AC Catches Fire At Night In Keralam

Using the AC to beat the rising temperatures in Keralam turned dangerous for an elderly couple here who narrowly escaped with their lives on the previous night as a short circuit in the machine resulted in a fire that completely gutted their bedroom, fire force officials said on Saturday.

The couple had just turned in for the night at around 9 pm when there was a short circuit in the AC, and it caught fire, an official from the Pathanamthitta fire station said.

The couple, who lived alone in their home in Kozhencherry here, immediately rushed out and called the fire force, while neighbours also came to their



assistance and removed the gas cylinders in the house via the back door, the official said. 

The fire unit doused the blaze and prevented it from spreading to the rest of the house or the adjoining homes, which were all located very close to each other, he said. 

The couple said that the gold ornaments and some of the documents in the room were unharmed in the fire, but the wooden furniture was completely burned. They said that the AC had not been serviced for the last two years.

"We switch on the AC for 2-3 hours at night and then switch it off," the man told a TV channel.