Fire breaks out in crackers factory, 20 injured

Kolkata: A major fire broke out at a crackers producing factory at Amdanga in North 24 Parganas.

More than 20 people including two firemen were injured, some of them critically, when the factory that had stored huge amount of inflammable materials caught fire. The incident occurred on early Monday morning.

The local residents of Bhaluka village of Amdanga heard the sound of an explosion at around 2.30 am on Monday. Many of the villagers left their house panic-stricken as the intensity of the fire was high. The roof of the factory made of tin was blown off by the impact of the explosion.

As many as twelve fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flame. A huge contingent of police force was also deployed to fight the situation and the police entirely cordoned off the area. The firemen, meanwhile, tried to restrict the fire from spreading to adjacent houses.

According to the witnesses, a huge explosion took place and they found smoke billowing out of the factory. The fire had soon spread to other portions of the factory before the fire tenders reached the spot. The firefighters initially tried to restrict the fire within a particular area. It was, however, difficult for them to identify the source of the fire as thick black smoke was coming out from the room.

The situation was brought under control after nearly five hours after the fire tenders reached the spot. Two firemen received injuries while dousing flame and they were taken to a primary health centre at Amdanga. The other injured persons were also shifted to the hospital. Some of the injured persons were stated to be in critical condition as a few of the workers were sleeping inside the factory when the accident took place. No casualty was, however, reported.

According to the preliminary investigation, fire officials suspect that there were huge amounts of inflammable materials stored inside the factory. The impact of the incident could have been higher had it taken place during the day time. The exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are yet to be ascertained.

Police and fire brigade started a probe if the crackers factory had a proper license. The local residents, however, alleged that the factory used to run illegally and it had no clearance. They also alleged that many such illegal fire cracker units have been functioning from the district but no steps were taken to crack down on them.

The owner of the factory has been absconding since the incident occurred. Police and fire brigade have started a probe in this regard. Action will be taken against the owners if the investigation reveals that the factory had no fire license.