Industrial Unit at SIDCUL engulfed in fire

An industrial unit in the SIDCUL area of Haridwar was completely gutted due to a fire that broke out on Monday morning. The unit, Siddharth Thermoware, made thermocol cups, tumblers and plates and it suffered a loss to the tune of Rs.7-8 crore, initial estimates suggested. Chief fire officer Rajendra Singh Khati will inquire into the incident to find out the cause of the fire, SIDCUL police station sources said.

According to Khati, information about the factory catching fire was given late to the police. “The employees initially seemed to have tried to deal with the situation themselves and decided to inform the police only when the fire went out of control.” In the beginning, two fire tenders from SIDCUL reached the factory. Subsequently, two from Mayapur, one from CISF and one more from SIDCUL fire stations were called in view of the gravity of the situation, he said. He added that the police teams fighting the fire faced difficulty as the tin shed melted in the fire and the whole structure came down. On the basis of his talks with the factory owner Abhishek Chauhan and the security guards, Khati conjectured that the fire was caused “due to short circuit in the grinding machine.”