Major fire destroys two factories in industrial estate in Ernakulam; no casualty

A massive fire destroyed two factories manufacturing spirit-based products such as thinner and polish at an industrial estate near here, officials said on Sunday.

None was injured in the blaze that broke out around midnight on Saturday and raged on before the Fire and Rescue personnel from 25 stations in Ernakulam and nearby districts doused it around 5 am on Sunday, they said.

There were no workers at the time of the mishap as the units do not have night shifts. One more adjacent unit in the Edayar Industrial Estate in Ernakulam district was partially damaged in the fire, said to have been caused by lightning.

A Fire and Rescue Service officer said a major blast was averted due to the efforts of the nearly 100 personnel as a huge volume of inflammable raw material was stored in the underground of one of the factories.

A major explosion would have occurred had the raw material caught fire, Station Officer of nearby Eloor Fire and Rescue station T B Ramakrishnan told PTI.

Fire and Rescue personnel from 25 stations in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts fought the inferno and brought it under control around 3.30 am, officials said, adding the extent of damage was severe and the loss was being estimated.

The fire was first reported from one of the factories at 11.54 pm and his team rushed to the spot within minutes, Ramakrishnan said. More teams of personnel in 30 vehicles were rushed to the spot after being informed about the severest nature of the fire, he said. The blaze was finally doused around 5 am.