Fire guts Hitachi unit near Kadi

It took more than 12 hours for firemen to douse a major inferno that engulfed Hitachi’s air-conditioner plant near Kadi town of Mehsana district. Luckily, there have been no reports of casualties due to fire.

Fire fighters from Kadi, Kalol, ONGC, Mehsana, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad rushed to the plant on Wednesday night after learning about fire at Hitachi Home and Life Solutions (India) Ltd’s air-conditioner plant. According to Rajesh Bhatt, additional chief fire officer, Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services, the fire started at around 8;30pm on Wednesday and lasted till 10am on Thursday morning.

“To control the blaze, which gutted a major part of the factory, we have sent 11 fire fighting vehicles, while 2 were sent by Gandhinagar. In total, around 22 fire fighting vehicles were needed to control the inferno,” said Bhatt. According to him, the cause of fire can be a short circuit. “The fire was huge, and it gutted almost whole factory, including storage facilities and other inventory” said Bhatt. Though there are no details about the loss, it is learned that 90% of the plant was destroyed in the fire. It is also learnt that the plant is spread across 85000 sq mtr land with approximately 35,000 sq mtr of Industrial shed.