Three minor fire accidents at separate places, including at the city airport, kept fire force personnel on their toes on Tuesday. Two of the mishaps occurred at organic factories on the outskirts of the city, while a minor fire broke out at the airport’s radar battery.
In the fire accident at an aromatics factory at SIPCOT Industrial area in Siruseri, five persons were injured. The fire, which broke out at Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women Society inside SIPCOT destroyed the whole plant, said a fire officer.
Saravanan, (37) and Bhaskar, (53) were injured in the incident and are being treated at a hospital in Porur, while three others Iyappa, Selvam and Silambarasan were given first aid at a hospital in Kelambakkam. Welding works being done inside the plant around 12.30 pm. It had led to a spark which came into contact with oil drums kept inside, leading to the fire, said an official.
Fire Engines from Thiruvanmiyur, Siruseri and Tambaram areas, which were fighting fire at a chemical factory nearby were immediately plunged into action.
The factory named Prasad Organic Private Limited is situated at Semmenchery and machinery and materials valued at Rs 4 crore were damaged. The fire broke out around 11 am when a mechanic was repairing a boiler on the premises and the workers attempted to put out the fire using extinguishers. But, due to the presence of chemicals, fire spread quickly and the fire and rescue service was alerted.
A fire officer said, “Workers had moved out to a safer place averting casualties. It took us about 20 minutes to put out the fire. We sprayed water over the entire area to prevent the chemicals stored on the premises from catching fire due to the heat,” he added.Owner of the factory, Prasad said `4 crore worth goods and machinery were lost in the blaze.
Compared to the fire mishaps in the two factories, the fire in the airport radar’s back up battery was not serious. Airport officials said it may have been caused by a stray short circuit. The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes and no services were disrupted.
“All radar and signaling services went on uninterrupted. We are trying to find why the fire occurred,” said an AAI official. It may be recalled that a major fire occurred earlier this year at the Air Traffic Services (ATS) tower, knocking out all communication for over 3 hours. That fire was caused by acid bursts in the batteries kept in the reserve power room.