Fire tenders made 200 trips to douse fire at the factory in Malviya Nagar

The fire that broke out last evening in Malviya Nagar did not lead to loss or injury of human life but the fire officials did not have an easy time. From fighting the traffic to time and again refilling water and getting back, fire tenders made around 200 trips to make sure the fire was doused.

The fire officials worked for around 18-20 hours to douse the fire completely and still stood guard at the godown to ensure the fire did not light up again. The operation was one of the toughest as the godown was located in the middle of a residential colony. The godown was spread in an area of around an acre with combustible material all around.

Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer stated that by Tuesday evening, the fire was under control, however, as strong winds lashed the Capital the situation turned tables for them and the flames were up again. "The residential areas are highly congested and the parking on both sides of the road makes the lanes narrow an obstruction for us. Moreover, the traffic during evening hours added to the trouble and it took more minutes for the firefighters to reach the main site," said Garg.

Another issue the firefighters faced was that the entry and exit to the site were from only one gate which meant that if a fire tender had entered, then for another to enter there was only one exit/entry.

Garg further added that they pulled out water from malls, Metro stations and other places nearby in order to make sure the water supply to douse the fire was not affected.

The godown did not have a single firefighting equipment inside or a valid fire NOC. "It was running illegally for over three decades and by the looks of it one would feel it is a society as houses near the godown are all either of the owners or their relatives. Everyone knew that it was illegal but all worked in connivance with each other," said a resident, who did not wish to be named.

The goods in the godown were of highly flammable material such as petrochemicals which were imported from Korea as per the tag placed on the boxes. Other materials were premium quality rubber that was also imported from Brazil and several other countries.