Fire at Research Centre of Orchid Chemicals

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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In a private pharmaceutical company at Sholinganallur fire burnt a research center which damaged furniture, lab equipment and computers on Sunday in Chennai.

The fire fighters tried their best to stop the flames for over four hours. So far no casualties have been reported. The police say that the cause of the fire might be an electrical short circuit.

The police said that fire fighters with tenders from Siruseri, Guindy, Thiruvanmiyur and Maraimalainagar quickly reached the spot.

“The lab had a false ceiling with thermocol and the rooms were divided with partitions made of foam material. They had small bottles of chemicals, as it was only a research centre and not a manufacturing unit. The chemicals were burning and only smoke came out of the building. There were small flames in places where the air-conditioners were burning,” said a fire officer.

The fire started at the research centre of a private Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Sholinganallur, around 8.30 am, the police said.

More than 40 fire personnel managed to break the glasses of windows to splash water.

“About 100 skilled fire persons arrived from the company’s Alathur facility. The company had all the safety measures. They provided us with the foam to put off the fire,” said a police official.

Mr. Manivannan, Divisional Fire Office also arrived there to observe the situation.

“The building was not easily accessible as the windows were sealed. Due to the heat and smoke we could not enter the premises. We had to break the windows, cool the interiors and then enter the facilities. The heat crossed 100 degree Celsius,” Mr. Manivannan, Divisional Fire Office, said.

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