Kannur high-rise flat fire, narrow road slowed fire units

What happened

A fire broke out in a flat on the 9th floor of the Rainbow Apartments, a 13-storey residential tower on Kaniyilpalam Road at Payyambalam in Kannur, Kerala, on Monday, 26 October 2026. It began at around 11.30 am by one report and about noon by another. The tenants of the flat had gone to work, and nobody was inside. Three fire units came. The fire was put out at about 2.30 pm, roughly three hours after it started. No death or injury to a resident was reported. Updated 27 October 2026.

Staff of a hospital standing right behind the apartments saw the smoke first. Its fire and safety in-charge ran over and tried an extinguisher, and he and some friends led two neighbours on the same floor to safety. He cut his hand in the process. Firefighters arrived soon after, by which time smoke had covered the building, and residents were being brought down. One firefighter was seen going down to the 9th floor on a rope from above.

The road that slowed the fire units

The road to the apartments is narrow, and there is little open space around the tower. Manorama reports that the fire vehicles had trouble getting in, and that the firefighters struggled to work. The living room, the bedroom and the wiring of the flat burnt, and window glass broke. That is the damage the reports describe.

Could it have gone beyond control? What the facts show

The reports are short, so this is only what they say.

• Height: the fire was on the 9th floor of a building with 13 floors in all, in the C block of the apartments.
• Time of day: late morning, with the flat’s tenants out at work.
• Spread: the living room, bedroom and wiring of one flat burnt. No report says the fire reached another flat.
• Smoke: heavy smoke rose from the tower and covered the building before the fire units arrived.
• Access: a narrow road and little space around the building made it hard for the fire vehicles to enter.
• Response: hospital staff used an extinguisher first. Three fire units followed, and the fire was out by about 2.30 pm.
• Evacuation: two neighbours on the same floor were led out, and residents were brought down the building. The number of people moved is not stated.
• Alarms and stairs: no report says whether a fire alarm rang, or which stairs were used.

One report says a major tragedy was avoided because the tenants were out and the fire service moved in time. The record shows a fire in a single flat, high up, reached by a narrow road, and everyone got out. It does not show how near the fire came to other flats, and we will not guess.

Living in a Kannur flat or planning a high-rise purchase? Our Kannur fire and emergency safety guide lists the district fire stations and numbers worth saving.

What is not known

The cause is not established. A short circuit is the early finding in one report, and another says an electrical inspector must examine the flat before the cause is clear. We do not know how many residents were in the tower, whether the building’s alarms and sprinklers worked, or what the total damage is. The two reports differ on the start time, 11.30 am or noon. We could not read the Deshabhimani report, which was behind a security check. Checked 27 October 2026.

What a flat resident can do

• Call 101 or 112 yourself. Do not assume a neighbour has done it. Give the building name, the road and the floor. See how to call 112, 101 or 108.
• Use the stairs, not the lift. If smoke is in your way, keep low and cover your nose and mouth with a wet cloth. Our guide on escaping a smoke-filled room has the steps. If you cannot leave, shut the door and seal the gaps with wet towels.
• Keep a small extinguisher in the flat and check its date. Our guide on using an extinguisher shows the PASS steps. Use it only on a small fire, and leave if it grows.
• Read about similar towers. The Nalasopara Imperial Heights fire shows what a high-rise fire can do, and our high-rise fire safety guide sets out what residents should do.

Tonight, walk from your front door to the stairwell and back, and try its door. Check that the lobby and the stair landing have no cycles, shoe racks or boxes in the way. In a smoky corridor you will have to find that door with your hand.