Cuttack: A major fire broke out at a dairy factory in Jagatpur Industrial Estate here on Thursday morning, gutting products worth around Rs 20 lakh and damaging a substantial portion of the building. No casualties were reported.It took five fire tenders and more than 20 firefighters nearly three hours to control the blaze, said city fire officer Prashant Dhal.The fire services department has launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the blaze and determine whether any safety lapses contributed to the incident.As per the firefighting team, the fire broke out around 7.40 am in the deep-freezer section of the factory’s storage area. The flames soon spread to the main building. Butter and ghee stored inside the freezers believed to have fuelled the blaze.Dhal said after receiving the information, they rushed to the spot with five fire tenders and more than 20 firefighters. “The fire had spread to the inner portions of the factory, making it difficult for our personnel to access the affected areas. We had to demolish parts of the building with the help of an earth-mover to create access and carry out firefighting operations. The lack of a proper emergency entry and adequate firefighting equipment made the operation extremely difficult,” said Dhal, adding such industrial units must strictly comply with fire-safety norms and maintain adequate access.“When these basic requirements are missing, it becomes a major challenge for the fire services during an emergency,” he said, adding the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.A detailed assessment of the damage is underway.The actual loss could be higher than the preliminary estimates of around Rs 20 lakh, as machinery, storage facilities and other infrastructure may also have been damaged.
