A major fire broke out at a godown stocked with chemical solvents and rexine, in Thandalkazhani village, Tiruvallur district near Red Hills, in the early hours of Monday.
Barrels containing chemical solvents triggered the fire that leapt to a neighbouring godown, which had stocks of wooden and other furniture. Preliminary reports suggest that the fire started at the godown which stocked rexine and chemical solvents before 4 a.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
“By the time personnel from the Fire Station in Redhills reached the spot, the barrels of chemical solvents were aflame and flames had reached the adjacent godown too”, said Priya Ravichandran, Joint Director, North, Fire and Rescue Services.
C. Sylendra Babu, Director General of Police, Railways, who holds additional charge of Fire and Rescue Services visited the spot. Mr. Babu said, “It was a true challenge to attack the fire initially. Our personnel were not able to enter the godown premises. The concrete structure was demolished using earth-movers, and then only we were able to enter and target the fire. The big challenge for us was to control the fire soon enough so that it did not enter residential areas which are a few yards.”
No casualty has been reported so far. As many as 24 water tenders and vehicles, foam tenders and earth-movers were pressed into service. Over 80 fire service personnel from Redhills, Manali, Avadi and other areas were deployed. The fire was brought under control at 10.30 a.m.
