Fire broke out at laboratory number 180 of the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), in Pune at 1.45pm on Monday afternoon. The moment the fire broke out, NCL employees used their in-house fire extinguishers and brought it under control along with firefighters from Pune fire brigade who arrived later and jointly exhausted the flames.
The NCL authorities claimed that fire incident was ‘minor’ and have ordered an internal probe into the outbreak of the incident. No casualties were reported in the incident, both fire brigade and police officials said.
According to the fire brigade officials, the fire broke out around 1.45 pm in the laboratory no. 180 of the main building of NCL which is located on Pashan road in Pune. At the time of the fire, the employees were out of the lab for lunch. The laboratory contained storage of highly flammable organic solvents, fire officials said. PMC fire chief Prashant Ranpise said that quick steps were taken to bring the fire under control. “The NCL fire was brought under control in five minutes. NCL has its own fire department, and its fire safety audit is done by the Institute from time to time.”
Fire station duty officer Shivaji Memane said, “The NCL staff which had stepped out of the lab for lunch saw the fire from a distance and smoke billowing out in the afternoon. They immediately alerted the fire brigade control room at 1.50 pm. The fire brigade vehicles including water tenders reached the spot in five minutes. When we reached the spot, the NCL staffers had started removing the highly inflammable organic solvent containers to safer places and were also using fire extinguishers available on the premises to douse the flames. Together, we brought the fire under control within five minutes. Our team members also removed the solvent containers from the spot. A major damage was prevented because the flammable solvents were promptly removed to safety and fire could not reach them. Our team conducted cooling of wooden furniture that had caught fire by spraying cold water to ensure that there was no repeat fire. Both the NCL and fire brigade staffers displayed professional co-ordination.”
{{/usCountry}}Fire station duty officer Shivaji Memane said, “The NCL staff which had stepped out of the lab for lunch saw the fire from a distance and smoke billowing out in the afternoon. They immediately alerted the fire brigade control room at 1.50 pm. The fire brigade vehicles including water tenders reached the spot in five minutes. When we reached the spot, the NCL staffers had started removing the highly inflammable organic solvent containers to safer places and were also using fire extinguishers available on the premises to douse the flames. Together, we brought the fire under control within five minutes. Our team members also removed the solvent containers from the spot. A major damage was prevented because the flammable solvents were promptly removed to safety and fire could not reach them. Our team conducted cooling of wooden furniture that had caught fire by spraying cold water to ensure that there was no repeat fire. Both the NCL and fire brigade staffers displayed professional co-ordination.”
{{/usCountry}}Ganesh Rane, public relations officer, NCL said, “The fire safety committee is carrying out an assessment and trying to ascertain the cause behind the fire. Due to COVID 19 restrictions, the laboratory was functioning within limited capacity. Only students who are in need of laboratory work strictly for their research are presently being permitted to remain in the lab in small batches.”
The NCL ‘Modular, Agile, Intensified and Continuous’ (MAGIC) lab had caught fire on the night of March 27, 2017. The fire destroyed the then 13-month-old lab, located in the pilot Plant III of the NCL campus. The NCL has witnessed many fire incidents in the past.
The National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, established in 1950, is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). CSIR-NCL as it is popularly known as a science and knowledge-based research, development and consulting organization. It is internationally known for its excellence in scientific research in chemistry and chemical engineering as well as for its outstanding track record of industrial research involving partnerships with industry from concept to commercialization.