Ludhiana: A factory and an adjoining scrap godown on Tibba Road were reduced to ashes in a major fire that broke out early on Friday.
Nobody was hurt in the incident as the unit was closed at that time and the factory owner and his family who lived on first floor of the premises managed to come out safely.
The exact cause of fire and its origin are yet to be ascertained.
The fire officials claimed that they received a call at 4.40am about fire in Sharma Processor in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar near Satsang Ghar on Tibba road. The firemen claimed that when they reached, the flames had already spread in the unit and scrap items kept in the adjoining plot had caught fire. The fire in the factory was controlled in a few hours, but fire fighters had to put extra efforts to douse flames in scrap godown. It took a long time to arrange earthmoving machines to remove scrap.
Fire tenders made 30-35 rounds to fetch water. There was arrangement for water in the factory.
Sub-fire officer Aatish Rai said, “When we reached the site, the flames had engulfed the ground floor of the unit completely and spread to scrap godown. The fire in unit was controlled, but it took long to douse flames in the scrap godown as it had flammable material.”
He said it is not clear how fire started, but there is a possibility that sparks might have started from a mobile tower installed on the terrace of the factory because of thunderstorm and lighting on Thursday night.
The fire was controlled in almost seven-and-a-half hours.
Panic in the area
The incident triggered panic in the locality as it was a residential area. People gathered near the incident site and even recorded it in their mobile phones. The firemen had to make extra efforts to keep people away from the site.
Refilling of fire tenders took a long time
The fire incident took place on Tibba Road and the nearest fire station was in Sunder Nagar. The fire officials claimed that in the early morning, it was still easier to refill the fire tenders due to lesser traffic at Basti Jodhewal chowk, but the day progressed, fire tenders took almost 40 minutes to again the spot from Sunder Nagar fire station. After the Basti Jodhewal flyover has become operational, there is no median or cut from Tibba Road up to Samrala Chowk. So, fire tenders had to take U-turn from Samrala Chowk to reach Sunder Nagar and then Tibba Road.
Nobody was hurt in the incident as the unit was closed at that time and the factory owner and his family who lived on first floor of the premises managed to come out safely.
The exact cause of fire and its origin are yet to be ascertained.
The fire officials claimed that they received a call at 4.40am about fire in Sharma Processor in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar near Satsang Ghar on Tibba road. The firemen claimed that when they reached, the flames had already spread in the unit and scrap items kept in the adjoining plot had caught fire. The fire in the factory was controlled in a few hours, but fire fighters had to put extra efforts to douse flames in scrap godown. It took a long time to arrange earthmoving machines to remove scrap.
Fire tenders made 30-35 rounds to fetch water. There was arrangement for water in the factory.
Sub-fire officer Aatish Rai said, “When we reached the site, the flames had engulfed the ground floor of the unit completely and spread to scrap godown. The fire in unit was controlled, but it took long to douse flames in the scrap godown as it had flammable material.”
He said it is not clear how fire started, but there is a possibility that sparks might have started from a mobile tower installed on the terrace of the factory because of thunderstorm and lighting on Thursday night.
The fire was controlled in almost seven-and-a-half hours.
Panic in the area
The incident triggered panic in the locality as it was a residential area. People gathered near the incident site and even recorded it in their mobile phones. The firemen had to make extra efforts to keep people away from the site.
Refilling of fire tenders took a long time
The fire incident took place on Tibba Road and the nearest fire station was in Sunder Nagar. The fire officials claimed that in the early morning, it was still easier to refill the fire tenders due to lesser traffic at Basti Jodhewal chowk, but the day progressed, fire tenders took almost 40 minutes to again the spot from Sunder Nagar fire station. After the Basti Jodhewal flyover has become operational, there is no median or cut from Tibba Road up to Samrala Chowk. So, fire tenders had to take U-turn from Samrala Chowk to reach Sunder Nagar and then Tibba Road.
