Huge fire at Patiala chemicals factory causes panic; situation under control

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, September 7

A major fire at a chemical factory in Focal Pont on Saturday is believed to have caused lakhs worth of damage, although there has been no reported loss of life or injury.

The fire is believed to have broken out at 10 am, and is suspected to have caused by a short circuit.

Officials said it was put out by 4 pm.

Three fire engines from Patiala, as well as fire tenders from Samana, Nabha and Rajpura, fought to put out the fire. Furious chemical-fuelled flames and thick smoke rose into the sky, sending several people nearby running for safety.

The nature of the fire forced fire fighters to use foam and sand to control it. Senior Deputy Mayor Yoginder Singh Yogi was also believed to be part of the rescue operation.

Eyewitnesses to the blaze said some explosions were also heard from inside the factory, where barrels of chemicals were stored. The explosions caused a portion of the structure— including part of the roof—to collapse.

Chemicals began flowing onto roads outside, causing panic among workers and owners of nearby factories.

The district administration and Patiala Municipal Corporation have ordered a fire tender to be stationed permanently outside the area, officials said.   

A fire officer, Madan Gopal Jalota, said the fire took a while to put out because of the chemicals.
“But we were able to control it and stop it from spreading to nearby factories.”

JJ Chemicals supplies chemicals to dairy industry. Owner Paramjit Singh Walia said they received a huge shipment of chemicals on Friday.

The loss caused by the fire has yet to be calculated, but is likely to run into lakhs, sources said.   

Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said: “No loss of life was reported since there was no inside the factory when the fire broke out. As a precautionary measure, materials from the adjoining factories have been removed. We will also inquire into the possible reasons due to which fire broke out”.

Patiala Member of Parliament (MP) Preneet Kaur also visited the factory on Saturday evening.