After a marathon operation, the fire that broke out at the bio-diesel manufacturing unit at Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone at Duvvada was put out on Thursday, even as multiple agencies started investigation into the causes that triggered the blaze in one of the storage tanks.
“Though the flames were extinguished in the evening, smoke is still billowing out from the debris. We have to be careful for the next 24 hours. As a precautionary measure, sand filling operation is being undertaken,” Inspector of Factories P. Chinna Rao told The Hindu .
The fire that was reported at around 7.30 p.m. at the bio-diesel plant of Biomax Fuels Ltd on Tuesday was completely tamed and stopped from spreading to other tanks following a fire-fighting operation by engaging 40 fire engines that lasted over 40 hours.
Over 30,000 litres of foam was used. About 250 fire-fighters were mobilised from the Fire Safety Department, Navy, and industries in North Andhra. The strategy was to contain the fire and stop its from spreading to the tanks that stored methane and bio-fuel.
It was in fact the longest fire-fighting operation in the region after vapour cloud explosion at HPCL Visakh Refinery, which had claimed 60 lives in 1997.
“Dousing the fire became a Herculean task as the raw material was not inflammatory like petrol and diesel,” District Fire Officer J. Mohan Rao said.
Palm fatty acid remains, which were stored in the tanks for use as raw material, needed 150 degree centigrade to get burnt completely, he said.
On receipt of orders from the naval headquarters and request from the State, the Eastern Naval Command carried out aerial reconnaissance for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
The huge fire that caused panic among residents in the nearby areas has become a subject of debate with several government agencies, which launched probe into the incident, finding fault with the management for not having adequate safety apparatus.
Factories, Explosives, Police, AP Pollution Control Board, and other agencies have collected samples from the accident spot for forensic examination. The claim of short-circuit as the probable cause by the management is also disputed by the officials from various agencies who inspected the site.
Director-General of State Disaster Response and Fire Services T.A. Tripathi went on record saying that the bio-fuel company did not adhere to parameters on fire and safety as prescribed in the National Building Code-2005.
Though the flames have been extinguished, smoke is still billowing out. We have to be careful for the next 24 hours
P. Chinna Rao
Inspector of Factories
