3 accidents keep firemen on toes in city

Sources said that ASB Plastics, a recycling plant owned by S Patturaja and located in Pammathukulam, which converts plastic waste into bars to be reused, caught fire around 2.30 pm. A group of workers were involved in erecting a shed at the entrance of the recycling unit and were using a welding machine for the purpose. Sparks from the welding machine might have caused the fire, which soon spread to the entire unit. 

Fortunately, 60 workers, including 30 women, who were inside the unit when it caught fire, escaped unhurt through the emergency exit. Fire tenders from eight stations, including Madhavaram, Manali and Ambattur were rushed to spot to contain the fire. Plastic bars worth Rs 3 crore were estimated to have been destroyed.

An Indian Bank ATM located on Gowdia Mutt Road caught fire in the wee hours of Thursday, as the AC unit inside the cabin burst. Police personnel, who were on patrol on Lloyds Road rushed to the spot after noticing smoke emanating from the ATM and put out the fire using the extinguisher kept there. Had the fire not been controlled, it might have spread to the bank adjacent to ATM as well, said sources. 

Three shops located on Arcot Road near Valasaravakkam Panchayat Office were gutted in a fire on Wednesday night. Passersby noticed a thick smoke emanating from one of the shops, a fancy store. The fire soon spread to the adjacent shoe and textile shops as well. Three fire tenders rushed to the spot, but fire was contained only after the shops were entirely gutted. A short-circuit is suspected to have caused the fire.