Minor fire breaks out at gutted Barotiwala unit

Ambika Sharma

Solan, February 10

A minor fire broke out at the gutted perfume manufacturing unit, NR Aromas, at Jharmajri village in Barotiwala in the Baddi area of Solan district due to a spark emanating from a cutter while workers of the Public Works Department were removing iron fittings from the entrance of the factory this afternoon.

Several chemical-filled drums lying at the entrance of the company caught fire due to the spark. The policemen and the State Disaster Response Force personnel stationed at the site doused the fire within minutes by sprinkling water. Fire equipment, including water tankers, were stationed at the factory for the past eight days to meet any eventuality.

Meanwhile, plumes of smoke were seen billowing out of the factory after drums caught fire. The process to lift chemical drums containing various inflammable material from the site began yesterday. The incident exposed how the site continued to be vulnerable due to the presence of inflammable chemicals. It also poses a threat to the buildings located in its vicinity and to the lives of people removing inflammable material from the site.

SP, Baddi, Ilma Afroz rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. The PWD staff was trying to clear the entrance of the factory to pave the way for the removal of the debris from the gutted building. Once the debris is removed, the search could be resumed for finding the bodies of five workers, who were yet to be traced even eight days after the mishap.

The factory used raw materials such as benzyl salicylate, phenyl ethyl alcohol, acetate, iso propyl palmitate, diethyl phthalate, etc. Several of these products are highly inflammable and require careful handling; they need to be kept away from heat. The company had one diesel generator set of 70 KVA capacity.