A fire broke out in a tobacco factory at Pottur village, 10 km from Guntur, on the Kolkata-Chennai national highway, here on Monday destroying hundreds of tobacco bales. The intensity of the fire on a blistering summer day was such that the fire personnel took nearly seven hours to douse the flames. Six fire tenders were pressed into service in the operation which began at 8 a.m. The cause of fire was not immediately known.

The tobacco factory named after Chebrolu Hanumaiah is owned by Chebrolu Narendrababu.

“The fire emergency control room received a call at 8 a.m. and the personnel rushed to the factory in two fire tenders. Later, we rushed in fire tenders from Tenali, Narsaraopet and Chilakaluripet. It took nearly seven hours to control the blaze,” District Fire Officer K. Srinivasa Reddy said.

Terming the fire as a high-intensity one, Mr. Reddy said a water bowser with a capacity of 16,000 litres was used to control the devastating fire.

The tobacco factory is spread over 15 acres and has six godowns. The fire broke out in the second godown. “The godown had bales of threshed tobacco, which is very dry in nature. As the fire broke out, it spread quickly due to the high temperature. The thick plumes of smoke and the burning smell made the task of containing the fire difficult,” said Mr. Reddy.

The Fire Department has written to the police to conduct a detailed inquiry and sought the extent of damage from the Revenue department.