Visakhapatnam: The fire mishap at Biomax Fuels Limited (BFL) in Vizag city has exposed how difficult it is to extinguish the fire with shortage of protein based-foam compound extinguisher and lack of trained manpower. Fire service personnel said the staff of BFL were unable to control the fire at the initial stage leading to a major mishap in which crores of property was gutted. It even triggered panic among those living in places nearby.
Though Vizag has been tipped to be the industrial hub of Andhra Pradesh, fire service personnel and industries are ill-equipped and do not have latest equipment that releases foam and water simultaneously to put out the fire.
Preliminary investigation into the mishap at BFL revealed that the company had no proper captive fire control system and there was no automated drenching system and sprinklers. District fire officer J. Mohana Rao said that tending a fire in the first few minutes would avert major mishaps. However, in the BFL case, that didn’t happen as BFL was ill-equipped in terms of fire fighting mechanism and trained staff.
The fire service personnel received the first call at 7.35 p.m. on Tuesday and the first batch of fire engines reached the spot at 8.10 p.m. By that time, the fire which started at one storage tank had spread to all the 12 tanks and there was no scope to stop the fire, he added. Commissioner of Police, Amit Garg, who has been supervising the operation to control the fire, said there was no proper firefighting mechanism in place due to which the fire spread rapidly.
However, the company's officials denied there was no firefighting system and claimed that it did not function during the emergency. Speaking to newsmen, AGM of Biomax (Operations), T. Srinivasa Rao said that the company had a hydrant system but it did not function. Sources said that fire service personnel in Vizag are not equipped with sufficient number of chemical foam tenders to handle fire mishaps in oil, chemicals and such industries.
70 per cent mishaps due to short circuits:
Short circuit was found to be the reason behind a majority of the mishaps in industries in Vizag region. Though the exact cause of the massive fire at Biomax Fuels Limited (BFL) in Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ), Duvvada area, on Tuesday night has not been ascertained, electrical short circuit is suspected to have led to it. District fire officer, Vizag, J. Mohan Rao said the fire mishap at BFL occurred around 7.15 p.m. on Tuesday reportedly due to short circuit at one of the raw bio-diesel storage tanks. There are 18 storage tanks (each with a capacity of around 2,500 tonne) of fuel and raw material at the facility. Of the 18 tanks, 12 (filled with the raw fuel between 50-70 per cent) caught fire.
Electrical short circuit near the pipes of the storage tanks is suspected to have caused the mishap and the company suffered a loss of about Rs 100 crore, said assistant general manager of BFL, Srinivas. Officials of the fire, police and factories departments said 35 people were killed and 60 others were injured in the 50 fire incidents that occurred in industries in Vizag region in the last two years. Of them, 70 per cent occurred due to electrical short circuits.
On January 25, 2016, a major fire broke out at the warehouse of Deccan Fine Chemicals at Rajavaram area under Payakaraopeta police station limits in Vizag district due to electrical short circuit. Though no casualties were reported, the mishap created panic among the people in the four villages in its vicinity. Many of the fire accidents occur either due to improper wiring or sub-standard electrical fittings. Although the managements of industries buy quality equipment, yet they don’t maintain them on a regular basis leading to wearing down of insulation on wires. Overloaded electrical circuits lead to overheating of the wires resulting in short circuits and massive fires.
‘BFL has no fire safety system’ and violated building code: TA Tripathi
The Director General, State Disaster Response and Fire Services, T.A. Tripathi said Biomax Fuels Limited (BFL), where a major fire mishap broke out on Tuesday night in Vizag city, has no fire safety systems as prescribed in the National Building Code of India-2005. In his report to the government on Wednesday, Mr Tripathi said the safety distances between the storage tanks were also not maintained properly which resulted in the fire spreading from one tank to another tank quickly.
He said the fire service personnel tried to protect the remaining six storage tanks and another six more methanol storage tanks, which were located on the same premises. Following the mishap, Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu sought a joint inspection by AP Pollution Control Board, fire services and factories officials and an industrial safety audit of all industries located in the district within a week The preliminary investigation into the mishap at BFL by various agencies also revealed that the company has no proper captive fire control system and there was no automated drenching system and sprinklers.
Though, the probable reason for the fire is not known, flames spread from one tank to another within minutes. The raging flames made it difficult for the firefighters to reach near the storage area. However, by midnight, the fire personnel could go near the storage tanks and had taken all measures to prevent the fire from spreading to other tanks. Fortunately, there was no loss of life and none was injured in the incident, he added.
The fire created panic among Vizagites on Tuesday night. The chief minister told the collector Dr N. Yuvaraj on Wednesday that based on the report, safety compliance by all industries in the district would be assessed at an appropriate-level. In his report to the government, Mr Yuvaraj mentioned that the fire started around 7.30 p.m. and the preliminary information from the factory employees indicated the cause of fire as short circuit of a motor in the unit.
The government machi-nery was immediately activated by mobilising 40 fire engines - 20 from the state fire services and 20 from ENC, VPT, HPCL-VR, Vizag Steel plant, Gangavaram, APSEZ , Ramky, Laurus and other establishments located in the district.
Foams for the fire engines were supplied from IOC , HPCL-VR, VPT, BPCL, Laurus and others and on Wednesday morning. The collector said as per preliminary information the fire started at tank No 9 and tank No 4. The operator and others working at the control room responded and alerted the security. When the internal fire fighting team was about to be commence the fire fighting, suddenly there was a blast in tank No 4 following which the workers fled from the scene.
