Fire in Howrah plastic chair factory

A fire broke out in a plastic chair factory situated at Sakrail in Howrah early on Thursday morning triggering panic among locals. However, no casualty has been reported.

The locals spotted smoke billowing out of the factory — National Plastic Industry — situated in Dhulagar Industrial Park in the wee hours and informed the matter to the fire brigade. The locals tried to douse the flames but failed to do so and the area soon got covered with thick black smoke. Around 15 fire tenders were pressed into action. The firemen initially faced difficulties to reach the source because of thick smoke.

The fire personnel evacuated the factory as a result of which no one was injured in the blaze. A senior fire official of the district said that the fire broke out at around 2 am. A portion of the factory was completely damaged.

According to the preliminary investigation, police and fire officials suspect that huge amounts of inflammable materials were stored inside the room that had caught fire as a result of which it spread quickly.

It took nearly eight hours for the firefighters to bring the situation under control and douse the flame. The challenge increased as there was no waterbody nearby.

Fire officials suspect that an electrical short circuit in a transformer might have led to the fire. They are also investigating if there was any fire fighting mechanism installed in the factory. The cause of the fire and its extent of damage are yet to be ascertained.

A senior fire brigade official said action will be taken against the plastic factory authorities if they are found to have flouted the fire norms. A probe has been initiated in this regard.