PUNE, MAY 3: In what could have been a chilling sequel to the Bharatpur nightmare, elephant grass at the Defence Ammunition Depot (DAD) at Dehu Road, some 30 km from Pune, caught fire on Wednesday afternoon. It took more than 10 fire-tenders, aided by scores of fire-fighters, almost three hours to douse the flames before it could get anywhere near the godown where "sensitive" ammunition is stored.Army officials were either tight-lipped or unavailable for comments but it is learnt that the fire was contained just a kilometre from the godown. Had the fire reached the site where the ammunition is stored, the results would have been catastrophic. The entire area was cordoned off and even policemen were denied entry into the premises.This is said to be the second incident of it kind on the DAD premises in recent months. Last December, a similar fire broke out but was contained well in time. Defence sources said the December incident was a minor one and "not of the intensity" witnessed on Wednesday.According to Defence sources, the fire broke out around 3 pm from the Kinhai village end near the depot. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately but stories did the rounds that the blaze could have been due to the negligence of villagers who, in their carelessness, may have thrown a burning cigarette stub into the grass.The fire spread rapidly through the dry drain pipes in the direction of the compound wall. Fanned by winds, the fire soon engulfed an area of seven to eight acres inside the depot.The growth of over four feet high dry grass on the vacant plot turned into an inferno by the time it was noticed by Defence staffers at the DAD, according to Army sources.The DAD stores ammunition for "all sorts of weapons used by various units in the area". "Had the stores caught fire, the entire Dehu Road area could have gone up in smoke," claimed an Armyman.As soon as the fire was noticed, the DAD officials rushed two of their fire engines to the spot. They also asked the DAD staffers to start fire fighting with fire pitters, according to sources.The Central Ordinance Depot (COD), which is located near DAD, was also alerted and its fire engines were summoned. COD staffers and attachments of various units, equipped with fire pitters, joined the fire-fighting exercise.As a precautionary measure, fire tenders were also requisitioned from the Ammunition Factory, Khadki; Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation; Pune Municipal Corporation's Aundh Fire Station; Telco; Bajaj Auto; and, INS Shivaji at Lonavla.Several fire tenders remained on alert on the DAD campus hours after the blaze was contained. Fire tenders, summoned from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, returned only after 8 pm.According to Shirish Sasane, senior sub-inspector from Dehu Road police station, the DAD authorities did not inform the police about the fire. "The columns of smoke billowing from the DAD campus could be spotted from distances as far away as 2 km. I saw the smoke from Dehu Phata around 4.45 pm. Fifteen minutes later, the Pune city police control room informed us about the fire. Immediately, I alerted the officials at the Pune rural police control room to summon fire tenders from INS Shivaji at Lonavla.""Later, I went to the DAD but the Army officials did not allow policemen inside. They insisted that we remain near the main gate due to security reasons. Around 6 pm, they informed us that the fire had been brought under control," Sasane said.Dehu Road was agog with talk about the fire and the possible extent of damage. A telephone booth operator in Dehu Road said the DAD officials had directed all staffers to remain on the campus till further notice."Around 7 pm, the DAD staffers were directed to inform their families that they would be working late due to an emergency. Many of the DAD staffers used the telephone booth to call up their families," they claimed.
