Ponda/Panaji: A major fire gutted a scrap yard in Kundaim in the early hours of Monday, with firefighters using around 1.7 lakh litres of water and 700 litres of foam to contain the blaze. The fire, which broke out around 3am, drew eight fire tenders from six fire stations and was brought under control by morning, though isolated flare-ups continued due to the breeze.Firefighters found large quantities of plastic, PVC waste, rubber, cloth and other combustible materials stored inside sheds. According to fire officials, PVC waste had been stacked up to 10 metres high.The Kundaim fire station received information about the fire at 2.58am, and firefighters reached the site within five minutes.“The fire had engulfed the entire shed with mostly plastic waste dumps and the firemen had to douse the fire at the entrance first to enter inside the shed,” said fire and emergency services deputy director Rajendra Haldankar.According to Haldankar, eight fire tenders from Kundaim, Ponda, Old Goa, Margao, Bicholim and St Inez-Panaji headquarters were pressed into service. Firefighters made repeated trips to spray around 1.7 lakh litres of water and used about 700 litres of foam to bring the blaze under control.“Considering the intensity of fire engulfed to plastic and rubber waste we had to spray around 700 liters of foam to douse the fire,” Haldankar said.He said firefighters had contained the blaze by morning, but isolated fires continued to flare up due to the breeze.Heavy earthmoving machinery was deployed to sift through the scrap, move debris and cover isolated hotspots and embers with mud.“The fire has been doused, but smoke is still coming out, which is expected. We have engaged earth machinery to sift the garbage,” a fire official said.Toxic smoke billowed from the site, hampering firefighting operations.An LPG cylinder was found inside the shed, where some labourers were staying. No injuries were reported.Fire officials said the cause of the blaze had not yet been determined.“We have not found the cause. When we reached here, the fire was everywhere. There is plastic, wires and paper, cardboard and cables that have been dumped here. All this creates a lot of smoke. We are not sure about the loss but to us all this looks like scrap. We used 1.7 lakh litres of water to douse the fire and the smoke still keeps coming,” a firefighter said.A person residing near the site alleged that the scrapyard was operating without permission from the local panchayat. The fire and emergency services director visited the site, while police and revenue department officials also conducted inquiries.Santosh Naik, who claimed to be the owner of the land where the scrapyard was operating, said he had sought to evict the operator from the plot.“I found out about the fire in the morning. This scrapyard has been working for three years. We had asked the operator to remove the scrap. We had written to the collector and a case is being heard by the collector. We gave the land to the operator but not for scrap,” Naik said.
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