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Chemical gas leak fills up basement parking of mall
The Pune city fire brigade officials were called after a suspected chemical leak was reported from the basement parking of the Central Mall near Garware grounds in Deccan area of Pune on Monday afternoon
The Pune city fire brigade officials were called after a suspected chemical leak was reported from the basement parking of the Central Mall near Garware grounds in Deccan area of Pune on Monday afternoon.
The gas was formed after a powder and a liquid in two bags reacted with each other and filled the basement. The gas spread rapidly and affected visibility and breathability of the air in the basement, according to fire official Gajanan Patrundkar of Kothrud fire station.
“The call came around 12:05pm and the first response was from Erandwane division. Then we reached there and tried to enter but the visibility was next to zero. When we tried to enter, we found the situation with a concentrated form of the gas had gathered inside. It was like winter fog has filled inside. They had kept the air exhaust blowers on.
So, we asked for the exhaust fans to be shut down and called for Breathing Apparatus (BA) set van and six of us dawned the BA sets before entering.
The mall, located in close proximity of Sanjeevani Hospital, had around 300-350 people in it, according to fire brigade officials. The people had started coming out of the mall and the remaining were evacuated immediately.
“We finally blew water on it and then the reaction calmed down. The gas was corrosive and probably poisonous in nature. We have developed scratching sensation in the throat and have a heavy head. We took a sample to check whether it is flammable with the help of a matchstick. But it was not flammable, but it was corrosive and when the liquid and powder was mixed outside in small quantities, it created the same effect,” said the fire official.
The incident was recorded at Deccan Gymkhana police station. The sample of the powder and liquid will be sent for testing at a government facility. The materials are suspected to be organic but not used for any cleaning or routine purposes, according to the fire department.
