A massive fire broke out at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune’s Pashan area on late Monday evening.
According to officials, the blaze which originated in the methanol lab (in Pilot Plant III) at around 8 p.m. and inflicted extensive damage, seriously gutted the ground and the first floors. While there was a major loss of property, no casualties or injuries were reported.
“Since the premises were under renovation , no experiment was being carried out in the laboratory and no scientist or student was near the pilot plant at the time of the conflagration,” said Dr. Prakash Wadgaonkar, Chairman, Safety wing.
The cause of the blaze has yet to be ascertained. Dr. Wadgaonkar further informed that a committee has been constituted under the Director, CSIR-NCL to probe the cause of the fire.
10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and a team of 50 jawans were engaged in fire-fighting with a quarter of an hour of the fire. The inferno was brought under control within an hour.
The pilot plant occupies around 10,000 sq.ft. and houses reactors and allied equipment.
Last year, in May, a similar fire broke out owing to a short circuit. However, in that case, thanks to some effective firefighting, a major accident was averted.
