Fire breaks out in cracker factory; no casuality

A major tragedy was averted after the fire department of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) succeeded in dousing a fire that broke out at a fire cracker factory near Padmji Paper Mill in Thergaon on Tuesday. No causality was reported in the mishap.

According to the officials from PCMC’s fire department, the fire broke around 7.30 am and soon the entire factory turned into a towering inferno. It took a four-hour long fire fighting operation to bring the blaze under control. The fire was apparently a fallout of an electric short circuit.

PCMC chief fire officer Kiran Gawade told dna, “A major disaster could have taken place had we not succeeded in controlling the fire. Explosive material used for making firecrackers had been stored in the factory. The factory workers arrived on duty early in the morning. When a worker pulled the electricity switch, there was a spark. The embers fell on the magnesium blocks stored near the switch and the fire spread rapidly.”

According to the fire department officials, the factory is owned by one Tejinder Kaur. Gawade said that when the fire department officials questioned her, she said that the factory has the shop act license and other permissions needed to run the business. “The civic staff is now verifying her claim,” Gawade added.

Such was the intensity of fire that the thick smoke emitting from the factory spread over the surrounding areas. As a result, people in the area had trouble in breathing. The smoke prevailed till 2 pm.
The fire impacted even the vehicular traffic in the twin township during the peak morning hours as a major snarl was witnessed near Dange Chowk.