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A massive blaze broke out at a fabric export unit in Bholapur village on Chandigarh Road on Wednesday afternoon.
Labourers working at the fabric unit, Jawandsons, had a close shave as operations were on when the fire broke out at around 3pm.
Panic gripped the area as thick clouds of black smoke were seen rising from the building. The staff was immediately evacuated, and no injury or casualty was reported.
Ten fire tenders were pressed into service from five fire stations across the city. Sub-fire officer (SFO) Maninder Singh said, ‘This was a major incident. The windows on the top floor were broken with a crane and water was poured from all directions to try and restrict the flames to a single floor. The fire tenders were refilled around 100 times.’
Fabric had been stocked on the top floor of the building, where the fire broke out. The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Shed collapses
Thick smoke and the collapse of a shed on the fourth floor hampered firefighting operations. Fire safety arrangements were in place at the unit, and the factory workers joined the firefighters in the operation.
Fire safety arrangements were also made at the unit and workers helped the fire fighters in dousing the flames. The operation finally came to an end around 10pm.
Absence of hydraulic ladder hinders ops
The absence of a hydraulic ladder added to the firefighters difficulties in extinguishing the flames in the high-rise building. The firefighters had to climb trucks and fire tenders to douse the flames on the fourth floor.
The proposal for purchasing a hydraulic ladder for the fire brigade had been hanging fire for over a decade. Earlier this month, the MC finally received the go-ahead to purchase a 50m ladder under the Smart City mission.
2nd incident in 3 days
This is the second fire incident reported at a fabric unit in three days. On December 26, a massive fire had erupted on the top floor of Sungrace Fabrics Private Limited at Kaali Sadak, Ludhiana, at around 5.30am. While there were no injuries, fabric and machinery worth lakhs were gutted.
The fire was doused after an intensive six-hour firefighting operation. Fourteen fire tenders were pressed into service for the firefighting operation.
