RAJAPALAYAM
A major fire that broke out at a polybag manufacturing unit at Murambu near here destroyed a huge quantity of polythene goods on Monday.
Electrical short-circuit is suspected to have caused the fire that was reported around 7 a.m. The unit that remained closed on Sunday was opened on Monday morning when the fire was first noticed.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Rajapalayam, led by Station Fire Officer S. Jeyaraman, rushed to the spot and tried to put out the flames. However, the thick smoke emanating from the huge unit gave a tough time to the firemen.
Besides the three fire tenders from Rajapalayam, fire tenders from Srivilliputtur, Sankarankoil and Virudhunagar and a foam tender from Madurai were pressed into service under the supervision of District Fire Officer K. Karuppiah. Since polythene goods had been stocked in a large quantity in the unit, the firemen had to struggle till 3 p.m to bring the situation under control.
“No loss of life was reported. We managed to control the fire from spreading to other areas of the unit where huge machinery and stocks of raw materials were kept,” Mr. Jeyaraman said.
A fire tender had been stationed at the accident site as a precautionary measure, he added.