CHENNAI: A massive blaze erupted at the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) plastic baling centre, located opposite the Pallikaranai Marshland Eco Park, around 9 am on Thursday. The fire first broke out in the Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) waste and spread to abandoned vehicles. After sustained efforts, the fire was doused in two hours.
The blaze led to a thick black cloud of smoke engulfing Pallikaranai and its surrounding areas during the morning rush hour.
A worker at the baling centre said, "The sun is not too hot in the morning to trigger a fire. Some workers may smoke and throw the remaining cigarette in the place, which could have triggered the blaze later. We got the information about the fire around 8.45 am and later, we informed the officials."
Upon receiving information about the incident, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot. Approximately 60 personnel arrived with nine water bowsers from Velachery, Guindy, Tiruvanmiyur, Nandanam, Medavakkam, and Tambaram, three recyclers, three earth movers, and 30 water tankers. To assist the public, officials have instructed the health department to arrange a medical camp.
Sholinganallur MLA ECR Saravanan, Deputy Mayor M Magesh Kumaar, Chennai Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran, Joint Commissioner (Health) VB Jayaseelan, and Regional Deputy Commissioner (RDC)-South Aftab Rasool inspected the spot to instruct the officials and workers to keep the fire under control.
"Waste from different areas is segregated, baled and sent to cement factories from this centre. We store about 100 tonnes of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) waste. With five to six tonnes of baled waste sent to cement factories daily, a fire broke out at the unit due to the RDF's highly inflammable nature. A detailed enquiry will be conducted to look into the cause," said Commissioner Sameeran.
The Deputy Mayor noted that an auction was planned to discard the abandoned and unclaimed vehicles from the corporation limits that were secured at the facility.
Sholinganallur MLA ECR Saravanan told the media that the dumped plastics caught on fire due to summer heat around 8.45 am and spread onto other vehicles. He added, "After learning about the incident, officials from several departments rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control within two hours."
He also noted that the removal of the abandoned vehicles had been halted due to the elections, but the process to remove them is now under way.