Fire at NCL,cause unclear

A sudden fire broke out at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) at Pashan on Thursday around 8 am. No one was injured and no major damages have been reported. While the cause of the fire is unconfirmed,the NCL has formed a three-member committee to look into the possible cause and the extent of damage.

The fire was noticed when some employees saw smoke coming out from room number 248 of ‘Catalysis division’ located on first floor of the building. The fire brigade was called immediately and fire tenders brought the fire under control by about 8.45 am,said Dr P K Ingle,spokesperson of NCL.

A preliminary survey revealed that some furniture,a freezer,a computer printer and some laboratory equipment were completely charred.

D N Nagalkar,assistant divisional officer of fire brigade,said,“We received the call at 8.14 am. Our teams immediately went to the spot. Three fire tenders were pressed into action. We extinguished the fire with water and foam. It took about half an hour to bring the situation under control.” He added that the cause of the fire was not confirmed. “We suspect it was either due to short circuit or a reaction between chemicals,” Nagalkar added.