Bangalore :  A massive fire broke out in Paragon Polymers factory, where footwear are manufactured, in Second Phase of Peenya Industrial Area causing a loss of about a few crore rupees on Friday afternoon.

Around 175 firemen engaged in a Herculean task to put off fire till late night. Though electric short circuit is said to be the reason for the fire, the exact reason is yet to be ascertained.

Ganga Bhairaiah, a fireman of Banashankari fire station, sustained burn injuries while fighting the fire and was admitted to a hospital. Initially, it was suspected that some labourers were stuck inside the factory where around 500 labourers, most of them women, were working.

However, later it was confirmed that all labourers were safe as they ran out of the factory immediately after the fire broke out.

According to officials of the Fire Department, the fire broke out at around 3.20pm and the matter was reported to the Fire Department control room. Immediately 12 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. But, as the fire was very huge and spreading to other floors of the building, more fire tenders were called in.

About 45 fire tenders from all fire stations of the city, Kunigal, Nelamangala, Magadi and Hoskote fire stations were pressed into service. “As there were rubber, plastic and chemical materials in the factory, they resulted in huge smoke making the operations tough. A few chemical drums exploded and other drums were shifted out of the spot as it would have resulted in more damage,” the officials added.

The fire also spread to a warehouse, where footwear were stored, on the premises and about 20 loads of footwear were burnt to ashes. Almost all machinery, furniture and other goods were gutted in the fire that spread to the entire building causing a huge damage to the three-storey factory.

Director of Fire and Emergency Services  B G Chengappa said that the reason for the fire is yet to be investigated. “Still we have to speak to persons who are in charge of the factory. There is no clear picture how the fire broke out. Some say that the fire was first seen in the first floor while a few say that it started from the generator room in the ground floor. Even the exact value of property damaged is yet to be established. We will talk to the persons concerned on Saturday,” Chengappa said.

In a mammoth operation to douse the fire, 45 fire tenders were pressed into service.  Among them nine vehicles were of 16,000 litre water capacity while the remaining 36 were of 4,500 litres.  All the vehicles made six trips to fill water as the fire did not come under control. Eventually, around 18.36 lakh litres of water were used to bring the fire under control. However, still the fire was not completely doused.

The fire which caused huge damage was so intense that the blazing building was seen from about a distance of five kilometers away.

A fireman said that as the fire tenders were reaching the spot, the fire could be seen from ISKCON temple which is a few kilometres away from the factory.

Soon after the fire broke out, the adjacent factories were shut down and workers moved to a safe zone.

About five factories involved in chemical and medicine manufacturing were closed following the fire mishap. Most of the workers helped the firemen in dousing the fire. The incident also affected vehicular movement.