Firemen dousing the fire emanating out from Asian Paints godown at Ranigunj in Secunderabad on Saturday| vinay madapu
HYDERABAD: It took more than 5 lakh litres of water to bring the burning paint at a warehouse in Ranigunj under control as fourteen fire tenders, 70 water tankers and over 300 personnel from fire, traffic and police departments to fight, probably, the city’s biggest fire accident in recent times.
The fire which broke out during the evening hours of Friday at Shades Paints intensified all through the night and was brought to control only in the early hours of Saturday. However, the flames reignited after sometime taking the firefighting to late hours of Saturday. Firemen from two different shifts worked for more than 24 hours to douse it. Located amid a locality with no motorable roads, the building was allegedly converted illegally into a warehouse.
“There was no way for the fire tender to enter the structure, we accessed three high-rise buildings located on the three sides of the building to localise the fire. There were no fire preparedness or any fire precautionary measures taken by the owners,” said Md Faizal, a fire officer who assisted in the operation.
Half of the building had collapsed by the morning and the debris was being removed when the flames started to reignite. The firemen re-deployed nine fire tenders to bring that fire under control.
The fire accident is suspected to have taken place due to electrical short-circuit.
“The owners have used the warehouse to store chemical paints beyond its capacity. We are still ascertaining if they have permissions for the warehouse,” said a GHMC town planner.
