Major tragedy averted after fire breaks out in PSTCL store

Rachna Khaira

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 3

A major tragedy was averted when the scrap yard and oil store of Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL), situated next to the 66 kva substation, caught fire today.

The store is situated on the Pathankot bypass on the National Highway 1-A adjoining the Indian Oil dump.

The scrap yard was filled with transformers having highly inflammable oil which started exploding like bombs within minutes of the outbreak of the fire.

According to Jaswinder Singh, SDO, PSTCL, the scrap yard was having around 450 drums filled with transformer oil and if these had exploded it could have caused a major disaster in the area.

Informing about the incident, Jaswinder Singh said the fire erupted around 1 pm. “We were having lunch in our office and suddenly saw fire engulfing a huge tree inside the scrap yard. Before we could act, the transformers lying inside started exploding after getting heated up. Huge flames and smoke engulfed the entire area within minutes,” said Singh.

Acting swiftly on his call, fire tenders of the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar (MCJ) rushed to the spot. Also, Deputy Commissioner Varinder Singh, ADC (Development) Girish Dayalan, Police Commissioner Praveen Sinha, along with senior officials, reached the spot.

A police team had to demolish part of the boundary wall with the help of a JCB to enter inside the complex. Huge flames were coming from inside and the drums filled with transformer oil were posing a serious threat to the rescue team.

However, with fire tenders reaching the spot in no time, the rescue operation was launched without delay. Fire tenders made several trips to fill water to douse the big flames. Finding it difficult, fire tenders from Phagwara, private institutions and nearby towns were also called.

Since the flames were too huge and the transformer oil drums could not be removed, finally the Army and Air Force were called in for the rescue mission. It was only after three hours that the fire could be controlled.

Many political leaders flock the spot

Many political leaders, including Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh, Punjab Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh, Mayor Sunil Jyoti and MLA Bawa Henry visited the spot.

Big loss for PSTCL

Though no loss of life was reported in the incident, the PSTCL suffered heavy losses as a large material of the establishment got burnt in the incident.

Area residents vacate buildings, hotels 

Panicked by the huge flames and repeated explosions, area residents started vacating their homes and hotels to shift to safer places.

Water scarcity reported 

Due to the big fire, the fire tenders made several trips to refill water and foam to control the flames. Even though there was a water tank of around 40,000 litres situated near the store, the PSTCL had no means to get water lifted from the tank. It was only after the Army and Air Force swung into action that the flames could be doused.