CHENNAI: A major fire broke out at a warehouse belonging to an oil and lubricants firm at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Vichoor near Manali on Monday morning, gutting the warehouse.
Thick smoke engulfed the locality after which several fire tenders rushed to the scene and the firefighting operations continued until evening. Police sources said that the blaze erupted around 11 am at the warehouse, where waste oil and lubricant materials were stocked.
Employees present at the premises noticed the fire and immediately evacuated the premises and alerted the fire and rescue services department.
Officials said the fire intensified as oil cans stored inside the warehouse exploded making it tedious for TNFRS (Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services) personnel to approach the site initially. Some of the barrels went several feet up in the air and fell to the ground, police said.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky and was visible from several kilometres away. "Since it was an oil godown, there were challenges in putting out the fire. But, fortunately, there were no residences nearby and no persons were affected," according to a fire department official.
Police said that the warehouse in Vichoor was only a storage and the manufacturing unit is in Coimbatore and hence only less manpower is present in the premises, enabling quicker evacuation.
Sources further said the facility had earlier been sealed following court directions and had resumed operations only recently. During the firefighting operation, two firefighters reportedly collapsed after inhaling dense smoke. They were rescued by fellow personnel, administered first aid and admitted to a nearby hospital.