E-Paper
Major fire at hosiery unit in Ludhiana rages for 7 hours, no casualties
The flames raged for 10 hours before seven fire tenders of the Ludhiana municipal corporation were pressed into service to control it.
A major fire broke out in a multi-storey hosiery trading unit in Purana Bazar near Dresi ground on Thursday night.
The flames raged for 10 hours before seven fire tenders of the Ludhiana municipal corporation were pressed into service to control it. No casualty was reported as the unit was closed but police officials said raw material and machinery worth lakhs was gutted in the blaze.
Cause of the fire has been stated to be short circuit.
The incident took place around 10.15 pm when a vendor and children playing in the thickly populated locality reportedly noticed smoke emanating from the unit after which they informed the owner and called fire brigade.
Factory owner, Pradeep Dhamija, said he had left for his home at around 9pm and received a call at 10.15pm that fire had broken in the unit. As fire engulfed the factory, panic gripped the area which also has residential buildings as people started streaming out of their houses and watched aghast.
The fire brigade, meanwhile, faced trouble reaching the spot as the unit is situated in a congested area with narrow streets. Firemen had to install pipes in over 100 meter area to douse flames.
“The fire brigade received information about the incident at around 10.30pm following which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The team returned at 8:30am,” said assistant divisional fire officer (ADFO) Bhupinder Singh said.
Due to unavailability of proper equipment, fire fighters didn’t enter the building fearing repeat of Ludhiana factory collapse in November earlier in which nine fire fighters were killed while dousing flames in a plastic factory. In absence of hydraulic ladders, fire fighters doused flames while stationing themselves on buildings opposite to the unit.
