Inferno at Ambala foam factory, short circuit likely; no casualty

Tribune News Service

Ambala, June 6

A foam and mattress manufacturing unit on the Ambala-Chandigarh national highway here was gutted in a major fire that broke out early this morning. While no loss of life was reported as all three workers present inside the factory at the time of the inferno were rescued safely, goods worth crores were reduced to ashes.

Though the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, sources said short circuit likely sparked the inferno.

Vinay Aggarwal, owner of Wincraft Foam Industries, told The Tribune that they closed the unit as usual last night (around 8 pm). He said at 7 in the morning, workers informed him that a fire had broken out at the unit.

At least 12 fire tenders from Ambala, Panchkula, Dera Bassi, Naraingarh, Kurukshetra and Army Cantonment were pressed into service. They took at least five hours to douse the flames in the combustible material unit spread over 1 acre. Besides, seven foam fire extinguishers from Indian Oil Corporation and six from Ambala City were also pressed into service to control the raging fire.

The timely action by the fire brigade averted the flames from spreading further and saved a fuel station located close to the gutted factory. Around 70 drums of chemicals stored in the unit exploded, leading to panic in the area.

The factory workers and locals present on the spot said power supply to the area was snapped around 2.30 am after a transformer located near the factory tripped following a spark. It was around 6 am when the power supply resumed that onlookers claimed to have noticed a spark on the factory rooftop.

Around 7 am, the entire area was engulfed in a thick black blanket of smoke that billowed out of the factory.

The police also reached the spot and helped in the relief and rescue operations. Fire officials said the investigations were in progress. The factory owner claimed that all finished goods and raw material lying in the unit were reduced to ashes. “The exact loss is yet to be ascertained,” Aggarwal added.

12 fire tenders take 5 hrs to douse flames

• At least 12 fire tenders were pressed into service. They took five hours to douse the flames
• Seven foam fire extinguishers from IOC and six from Ambala City also used to control fire
• Around 70 drums of chemicals stored in the unit exploded, leading to panic in the area