Goods worth lakhs gutted in blaze at footwear factory

A major fire broke out at a footwear sole manufacturing unit in Panki Industrial Area in the wee hours of Thursday. Initial probe suggested that an electrical short circuit was reportedly the cause of the fire. No person was hurt in the fire. A senior official said goods worth lakhs were reduced to ashes in the blaze. Ten fire tenders were pressed into service and it took over five hours to douse the flames. Santosh Kumar, a resident of Kakadev Shastri Nagar owns a footwear sole manufacturing unit in the Panki Industrial Area. The police said that the fire broke out following a short circuit in the electric panel in the factory in the early hours of Thursday. The fire spread in a major portion due to the combustible material including the raw and packaging goods dumped inside the factory. The police addedpanic prevailed the nearby units and workers escaped to safer places. Nearly ten fire tenders from various fire stations reached the site and after two hours of efforts controlled the fire. However, even after the fire was extinguished a thick column of smoke continued to rise from the factory. The fire has been completely doused and none reported to suffer injuries in the incident. ACP added.