E-Paper
Ludhiana hosiery unit goes up in flames
Over 12 fire tenders were pressed into service but firefighters struggle to douse the flames; ops were on till filing of report
Fire broke out at a three-storey hosiery trading unit in Wait Ganj area on Saturday afternoon, spreading panic in the area. No casualty was reported.
The incident took place around 12:30 pm when the owner and a few labourers were present on the ground floor of AR Sabharwal hosiery unit on Lal Masjid road. The fire was first discovered by a labourer who saw smoke billowing from the ground floor and raised an alarm. Though the reason behind the fire is not clear yet, it is suspected to be short-circuit.
CYLINDER BLAST
At least two explosions were witnessed at the site—one due to a cylinder blast, which damaged the wall of a building on the opposite side of the road. Firefighters managed to pull out three other gas cylinders from the building, to prevent another explosion.
By evening, the flames had spread to the adjoining building as well.
12 FIRE TENDERS PRESSED INTO SERVICE
Fire station officer Shristi Nath said that soon after getting information around 1pm, as many as 12 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Later in the evening, more fire tenders were called in from Samrala and Phagwara.
Due to congested roads, fire tenders had trouble reaching the spot and the firefighters had to use 100-metre long water pipes to carry douse the flames. As the buildings’ width was about 70-80 ft, fire fighters were finding it difficult to sprinkle water on the read side of the building.
Senior deputy mayor Sham Sundar Malhotra also visited the spot. Malhotra said the fire fighters were facing problems due to congested lanes but the required efforts were being made to avoid further damage. Firefighters were still trying to the douse the flames at the time of the filing of the report.
Wait Ganj, located in the old city area, is a hub of hosiery industry. The hosiery owners in the market claimed that the firefighters reached at the spot after a delay of around 45 minutes.
NARROW ESCAPE FOR OWNER
As per the information, the elderly owner of the building, AR Sabharwal escaped by jumping through the adjoining roof. Sabharwal had gone to the first floor for keeping the gas cylinders at a safe place but got trapped as the flames spread to the ground floor. Other shopkeepers helped him escape through the adjoining building.
Meanwhile, hosiery traders, who had gathered outside the building, rued that firefighters were not using firefighting foam, which would have helped douse the flames faster.
