'Serious lapses in firefighting arrangements in Taratala'

Kolkata: The fire brigade department found some serious lapses in the fire fighting arrangements in the Taratala chemical factory that caught fire on Wednesday. The fire brigade department has lodged an FIR in connection with the incident.

The firefighters continued the procedure to cooling it down as tremendous heat was generated in various pockets of the factory. According to a fire department official, smoke was billowing out from some parts of the factory on late Wednesday night when the rescue operation was going on.

Four fire tenders remained parked throughout the night and the fire fighters carried out the operation till Thursday afternoon.

According to the preliminary investigation, police said that huge amount of inflammable materials were stored in the factory which would have been supplied to various parts of the state. These materials would have been used for producing fire crackers, police said.

Preliminary investigation carried out by the fire brigade also suggests that there were several lapses in the factory. The fire fighting mechanism was also not in place in the factory. A huge amount of ammonium powder was stored inside the factory illegally.

The fire took place after the chemicals including ammonium powder came in contact with water. Several explosions took place inside the factory aggravating the situation further.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee inspected the operation and asked the fire officials and police to take action against the factory if any negligence is found. Action may be taken against the owner if found guilty.

According to preliminary investigation, the fire officials suspect that the blaze was probably caused after the chemical that came in contact with water.

The local residents heard loud explosions inside the factory. Even during the fire fighting operation, the explosions took place inside the factory which further aggravated the situation.