CHENNAI: Around 1000 barrels of oil spread over two acres of land were completely gutted in a massive fire at Gummidipoondi Sipcot on Friday afternoon, with smoke engulfing the entire area.
According to the police, the private factory purifies oil and the waste generated is sent for the construction of roads and mixing of concrete. The factory adjacent to its godown comprises two acres in an isolated place, said police.
“At around 1 pm, the Gummidipoondi fire control received information about smoke rising to the sky from the godown. When the fire tender from Gummidipoondi Sipcot rushed to the spot, the fire had already spread to half of the area. Hence, more fire service vehicles from Gummidipoondi, Athipattu, Thervoy Kandigai, Ponneri and Redhills were brought,” said a fire officer.
Around 50 fire safety personnel have been struggling to put out the fire from 1 pm. By 3 pm, the fire spread to the entire area of two acres, said the fire officer making it a herculean task.
The cause of the fire is yet to be established. No casualties have been reported since the factory was closed due to the lockdown and it was away from residential areas. Some people who gathered to watch the fire were sent away by the police.
“A basic safety feature in such godowns is to compartmentalise the oil cans and barrels, which the company seems to have not followed. While storing large quantities of oil and its waste products, which are highly flammable, they should be kept apart from one another to stop the fire from spreading faster. In this godown, all the barrels were placed very close and on top of each other," said the officer.
The warehouse allegedly did not have other fire safety measures like sprinklers and fire detection alarms. "Had there been a fire detection machine, the sprinklers would have started automatically and the fire could have been doused faster and the loss reduced," he added.
More than twenty water tanker lorries were brought to refill the fire tenders and in addition, spray foams were also used to douse the fire. The fire officers said that their first aim was prevent the fire from spreading to the nearby dry land.
It may be recalled that a similar fire had broken out at a chemical warehouse in Madhavaram on March 1.