Blast after factory goes up in flames in Delhi’s Mayapuri, 9 injured

Fire officials said that the building is constructed over a 92 sq m plot and is used for manufacturing springs used in sofa sets

A portion of a factory in west Delhi’s Mayapuri blew up after fire erupted in the vacant three-storey building in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving at least nine people, including two policemen, injured, police and fire officials aware of the matter said.

Police said the factory manufactured iron spring for furniture. They said two cops were among those injured. (HT Photo)

No casualties were reported in the incident. Officials said that some of the victims suffered minor injuries and were discharged after treatment. One policeman was admitted to hospital with a fracture.

While firefighters struggled to control the flames which kept flaring up due to chemicals stored in the manufacturing unit, the fire was doused by around 4am, officials said.

The cause of the fire is yet to ascertained.

Vichitra Veer, deputy commissioner of police (west), said that a case of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter, and negligent act causing hurt, was registered at Mayapuri police station. It was also being ascertained if the building’s owner had obtained a fire no-objection certificate.

Fire officials said that the building is constructed over a 92 sq m plot and is used for manufacturing springs used in sofa sets. It is located in Phase 2 of Mayapuri Industrial Area.

While its ground floor was used as a godown, the first floor stored machines, said Amit Kumar, Janakpuri fire station officer, who oversaw the firefighting operation. “The factory was shut at around 9.30pm on Tuesday, so there was no one inside,” Kumar said.

The unit caught fire at around 2am, according to officials, following which five fire tenders wee rushed to the spot, said Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services. Shortly after the blaze and before the firefighters could reach the spot, local police personnel and people from the neighbourhood gathered at the spot. It was around this time that the blast occurred, the DCP said. “The impact of the blast was such that the gates on both sides of the building went flying, leaving a total of nine persons injured. Some of the victims also received burn injuries, but they are relatively minor in nature,” said Kumar. Officials said that some chemicals likely triggered the blast. “We are yet to confirm which chemicals caused the blast,” said Kumar.

The injured people, who are largely men aged between 23 and 60, work in factories in the industrial area and live nearby. The fire fighters, meanwhile, took about 20 minutes to douse the initial flames, but officials said that they kept flaring up due to chemicals in a glue that had spilled out of a drum during the blast and spread on the floor. “The fire was fully controlled within two hours,” Garg said.