16 fire tenders take 13 hours to battle blaze at industrial unit in Ghaziabad

The fire that began around 9pm on Sunday could be douses by 10.30am on Monday and its smoke was visible from high rises of nearby Vasundhra and Vaishali

Ghaziabad: A blaze, suspected to have sparked off due to an electric short circuit at a manufacturing unit in Sahibabad Site IV industrial area on Sunday night, assumed major proportions as it took nearly 13 hours of firefighting by 16 fire tenders requisitioned from neighbouring districts to extinguish it, officers said on Monday.

During the incident, there were blasts occurring in resin and polymer drums and this also hampered fire-fighting and caused the fire to rage further, the chief fire officer revealed. (HT Photo/HT Photo)

The fire which started around 9pm on Sunday could be douses by 10.30am on Monday. Its smoke was visible from high rises in the nearby localities of Vasundhra and Vaishali, and Kaushambi.

“Our fire station at Vaishali received information of fire at Paharpur Cooling Towers unit around 9pm. Four fire tenders from Vaishali, three from Kotwali and two from Sahibabad were rushed to the site. There was a major tin shed which housed resin, chemical drums, wooden pallets, cooling towers manufacturing material etc. We also called fire tenders from Loni and Modinagar,” said Rahul Palm chief fire officer (CFO), Ghaziabad district.

The affected company’s officials could not be reached for immediate comments.

Fire officers, however, shared that the fire-fighting operations were launched keeping in mind that the blaze could spread to nearby units as well.

“We also called up fire tenders from Gautam Budh Nagar, Baghpat and Hapur… During the incident, there were blasts occurring in resin and polymer drums and this also hampered fire-fighting and caused the fire to rage further,” the CFO revealed.

Officers, however, said that there were no injuries or other loss of human life reported during the incident during which the fire engulfed an area of about 5,000 square metres.

“The fire also spread minorly to a nearby unit and also at a religious structure. A fire tender each was sent to douse the flames. In all, 16 fire tenders were pressed for regular efforts during the incident,” they said.

Last three years witnessed 931 (2021); 1,103 (2022); and 1,058 (2023) fire incidents in Ghaziabad while a total of 410 such incidents have been reported till April 29 this year, officers informed.