E-Paper
Diwali mishaps: 3 major fires in factories in Ludhiana; no casualty reported
The fires broke out at a blanket unit in Seera village near Rahon road, a hosiery unit on Tibba road and an oil and chemical factory at Pahwa village of Sahnewal area
While city residents celebrated Diwali on Saturday by bursting crackers at large, the fire brigade remained on its toes with 33 fire incidents being reported from the district.
Major fires were reported from three factories in the city. Goods and machinery worth lakhs were gutted; but no casualty was reported.
The fires broke out at a blanket unit in Seera village near Rahon road, a hosiery unit on Tibba road and an oil and chemical factory at Pahwa village of Sahnewal area.
At Seera Road, flames ravaged a blanket and shawl manufacturing unit. The fire broke out at around 5.30pm and four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The operation to douse the flames continued for around three hours and no casualty was reported. However, material and machinery worth lakhs perished. The unit was closed when the fire broke out and officials suspect a short circuit.
Flames also engulfed a hosiery unit on Tibba Road at around 9.15pm. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. No casualty was reported but the fire brigade faced problems as a large number of labourers gathered at the spot.
In Sahnewal, the fire broke out at around 11.30pm. The fire-fighting operations continued for over six hours. Mustard oil is manufactured in the factory and cardboards were kept in large quantities on the first floor of the unit.
Sub-fire officer (SFO) Arvinder Singh, said: “The fire fighting operation continued for a long time as cardboard was kept the first floor. Black smoke was emanating out of the unit and the we faced difficulties in dousing the flames. The reason behind the fire is uncertain as the unit was closed when the mishap took place.”
The other fires were reported from shops, open plots, stationary vehicles and houses. Officials said bursting of firecrackers is the main reason behind the mishaps.
SFO Navrang Singh, said, “A Tata Ace loaded with scrap from paint boxes also caught fire near the Gill Road fire station. As the scrap was of paint boxes, a few explosions were witnessed, but the flames were doused in some time.”
SFOs Jaswinder Singh and Atish Rai said, “The other fire incidents reported from scrap shops, scrap dumped in open, houses and a few mobile and furniture shops. All were minor incidents and no casualty was reported.”
Singh said that minor fires were also reported on Sunday morning including a house in Model Gram.
70 firefighters deployed on Diwali night
As many as 102 firefighters were on duty on Saturday of which 70 were deployed at night.
Fifteen extra drivers were assigned on fire duty and 17 fire tenders were deployed at fire stations, including two small tenders for dousing flames in the narrow congested streets of old city area.
Five temporary fire stations were also established at Samrala chowk, Jalandhar Bypass, Sherpur Chowk, Dandi Sami Chowk and Bharat Nagar Chowk.
