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Massive fire ravages dyeing unit in Ludhiana
Plumes of toxic smoke engulfed the entire area after a massive fire broke out at a dyeing unit on Tajpur Road on Thursday
: Plumes of toxic smoke engulfed the entire area after a massive fire broke out at a dyeing unit on Tajpur Road on Thursday, destroying machinery and raw material worth crores of rupees.
The fire broke out at the storage area of the Hinglaj Processors in Jagdish Pura and spread to the whole building.
Due to the huge quantity of raw polyester, oil, and chemicals stored in the building, it was difficult for the firefighters to douse the flames.
Such was the intensity of the fire that plumes of dark smoke were visible from as far as Samrala Chowk.
At the time of the incident, around 150 workers were present in the unit. No human injury has been reported.
The fire officials were informed about the blaze at 4:20 pm and it was brought under control around 6:30 pm. As many as 12 fire tenders of the fire brigade were pressed into service.
A major tragedy was averted as the fire was doused before it reached the boiling unit that contained inflammable material.
The structure of the building, which has two floors, was also damaged in the fire. Fire officials said that as there were no ventilation points in the building from where the air could pass and help the fire brigade in controlling the flames, firemen had to make holes in the walls at several places.
As the area around the unit is heavily populated and houses several industrial units, electricity supply of the entire area was cut off immediately and restored only after two hours.
Pawan Sehgal, the owner of the unit, said that he was doing his routine work at the office when he saw flames erupting out of the building and all the workers rushed out immediately.
A minor fire incident had also taken place on the second floor of the building around six months ago but was controlled in time, the family said.
Atish Rai, sub fire officer, said that no arrangements for water supply were available at the unit. The industrial unit also had not followed any of the fire safety measures, he added.
The fire brigade officials said that the owner has been directed not to let anyone go close to the building for a few hours as there is a danger of the building getting collapsed.
As the unit was located on the main Tajpur Road, which sees a heavy rush, one side of the road was blocked for the traffic, leading to long jams. Fire officials said that due to traffic, it took extra time for fire tenders to reach the spot after refilling.
