Fire guts Dombivli factory; probe to check if safety norms were flouted

A major fire broke out in a chemical manufacturing factory at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area in Dombivli, around 31 km from Mumbai,

A major fire broke out in a chemical manufacturing factory at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area in Dombivli, around 31 km from Mumbai, on Tuesday afternoon. There were no injuries or casualties reported. An inquiry will be set up to probe into whether the factory was following fire safety regulations.

HT Image

At around 1pm, a fire broke out at Metropolitan Eximchem Private Limited. Workers were able to evacuate the building quickly. As there were flammable chemicals in the building, multiple explosions were heard by locals. All those in offices, schools and other buildings within a 500-metre radius of the fire were evacuated and nearby roads were blocked as preventive measures. Later, the fire spread to a cardboard manufacturing company located behind the Metropolitan Eximchem.

Fire departments from Thane, Bhiwandi, Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Ambernath dispatched 15 fire tenders, 100 firemen and 14 water tankers to douse the blaze. Firefighting operations continued late into the night. A team of 20 personnel from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also sent to the site by the evening.

While the fire was brought under control by Tuesday night, firefighters said that cooling operations would continue late into the night.

“Thick smoke was released since the factory manufactures 18 types of chemicals. The entire factory has been charred in the incident. There were small explosions as well. We suspect a boiler inside the plant might have also exploded due to the blaze,” said Dilip Gund, chief fire officer, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).

As a precautionary measure, approximately 150 residents of Mhatre pada, a nearby locality, were evacuated. Gajanan Mhatre, 55, reached his home soon after the fire broke out. “People were suffocating due to the thick smoke [from the fire],” he said, adding that some people felt sick and complained of throat aches.

Locals alleged Metropolitan Eximchem is one of five highly hazardous units operating in MIDC, Dombivli. “According to a Right to Information inquiry I’d filed earlier, this company has been listed as highly dangerous,” said Raju Nalawade, secretary, Dombivli Housing Welfare Association.

Thane collector Rajesh Narvekar, Kalyan tehsildar Deepak Aakade, and KDMC Commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi also visited the spot. “Once the fire is doused, we will set up an inquiry on whether the factory was following fire safety norms,” said Narvekar.

Earlier this month, after pollutants turned a road in MIDC Dombivli pink, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had directed factory owners to categorise dangerous and extremely dangerous factories in the area.