Massive fire breaks out at Deepak Nitrite’s plant in Vadodara

A massive fire broke out at Deepak Nitrite's chemical storage facility near its manufacturing plant in Nandesari at Vadodara in Gujarat, injuring seven people including fire-fighting officials. The fire was doused within two-and-a-half hours with 10 fire tenders in operation.

The incident occurred after a drum containing solvent exploded first and caught fire which spread to other drums in the vicinity that also exploded one-by-one. It was not immediately, however, established as to how many drums blasted. The company has not disclosed the damage it suffered either.

But a senior company official confirmed having seven workers hospitalized due to inhaling smoke. The Vadodara civic authorities evacuated around 700 residents living in the vicinity of the factory and shifted to safer places. Several emergency fire services vehicles were rushed to the spot as smoke was visible in the sky from a distance.

"The plant manufacturing inorganic and organic intermediates got a lot of support from the factories in the neighbourhood, government officials, nearby citizens and others in the process of extinguishing the fire. The company's own fire-fighting systems also helped to contain the fire at the godown level without much damage," said Deepak Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, Deepak Nitrite Ltd.

Mehta further added, "This speaks well about the goodwill Deepak Nitrite has created at times when everybody around us was willing to extend all possible support in the hours of need."

The company has set up a high level team which will independently assess the cause of the incident to ascertain the quantum of damage. It is in touch with all regulatory authorities who are also independently assessing the matter. The company officials are also visiting the spot to assess the situation and explore ways to restore normalcy in the concerned godown.

The company is also independently reviewing the boiler operations at the plant. This holds the key about the expertise of Deepak Nitrite.

"We should be re-starting our plant one-by-one in a phased manner. We will assess the situation at the plant and seek necessary permission from the regulatory authorities to commence our operation and gradually move towards normalcy," Mehta said.