A major fire broke out in an ink factory at Jeedimetla Industrial Area on Sunday triggering panic among nearby residents.
Ten workers had a miraculous escape in the incident that occurred at around 12 noon at Bharat Flexigraphy Printing Ink factory, officials said. Property worth lakhs of rupees was destroyed even as firemen struggled for nearly seven hours to control the blaze. Locals and workers of surrounding factories panicked as drums of chemical solvents blew up one after the other.
As the area was filled with thick clouds of smoke, the firemen brought from seven fire service stations struggled to control the blaze. “With painstaking efforts, we managed to douse the fire by 7 p.m.,” said Jeedimetla Fire Officer A. Sridhar Reddy. Chemical reaction while processing the solvents could have triggered fire, he said.
Workers ran away from the factory and approached firemen at the nearby Jeedimetla fire station. Fire tenders from Jeedimetla, Sanathnagar, Secunderabad, Moulali, Madhapur and other areas were rushed to the spot. As flames started spreading to the abutting carton boxes factory, firemen took precautionary measures to control the fire.
“We used foam and water extensively to put out the fire,” Mr. Reddy explained. Fire Services Regional Director G.V. Narayana Rao said efforts were on to collect more details from the management to ascertain the exact loss.
