Noida: A day after two firefighters died and three others were injured as chunks of concrete and an iron beam crashed on them during firefighting operations at a chip manufacturing unit in Ecotech-3 industrial area, a labour department review found intense heat due to the blaze severely weakened the building’s metal structure and unhinged the beam that led to the collapse.A joint inspection by assistant director (factories) Anshul Tiwari and assistant director (factories and boilers administration) Ram Bahadur on Wednesday found the PUF (polyurethane foam) roofing system, steel trusses, beams and columns on the first floor of the factory, where the fire initially started before spreading vertically to the second floor, were extensively damaged after they were exposed to extremely high temperatures.Initial findings indicated the steel framework underwent rapid thermal expansion during the fire, followed by sudden thermal contraction, resulting in residual stress, buckling and a significant reduction in the steel’s yield strength and load-bearing capacity. It noted the building lacked an adequate smoke extraction system that led to smoke accumulation and potentially increased internal temperatures.Officials said as the weakened structure came unhinged during the cooling operations, a large section of the adjoining wall and an iron L-bar, which acts as a joint connector, crashed.Fireman Rohit Yadav (32) and chief constable driver Teerathpal Singh (48), who were standing in the factory’s setback during the cooling operations around 4.10 am on Tuesday, were buried under rubble of concrete and iron and fatally injured. Chief constable driver Rajpal Singh, firemen Manish Kumar and Amit Kumar, who were standing atop one of the fire trucks with a water jet trained at the building, were seriously injured as chunks of concrete and bricks collapsed on them.Firemen and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams pressed into the rescue operation managed to pull out the three firemen and chief constable driver Rajpal Singh within minutes, but Teerathpal Singh remained trapped beneath the debris for nearly 20 minutes and succumbed to his injuries by then.
Firemen and SDRF teams pulled out three firemen and chief constable driver Rajpal Singh within minutes from the rubble. But Teerathpal Singh remained trapped beneath the debris for nearly 20 minutes
During the inspection, officials questioned company representatives and management, recorded the written statement of the company head and examined the condition of the building and machinery along with available evidence.The inquiry found that the fire broke out in the testing lab on the first floor, but the exact cause of the blaze was yet to be determined.On Wednesday, the district magistrate halted production and operation of machinery at the unit under the UP Factories Rules. The company has been directed to conduct a series of safety evaluations through accredited agencies, including a structural audit of the building, machine risk assessment, fire risk assessment, electrical safety assessment, non-destructive testing (NDT), foundation analysis, floor load testing and seismic analysis. The reports have to be submitted to a competent authority for review.Currently, the structural integrity of the steel framework, reinforced concrete members, foundation and the building is being assessed by the public works department.
The two deceased firefighters were given a ceremonial farewell at Police Lines in Surajpur on Wednesday
A fireman, who was at ILGIM factory on Tuesday, said if the building had been constructed with reinforced concrete roofing instead of steel girders supporting the structure, the wall may not have collapsed. The steel girders that act as support beams had bent under extreme heat and eventually led the wall to collapse, he said.Additional commissioner of police (law and order) Rajiv Narayan Mishra said an internal audit of the company has been initiated to examine whether all mandatory fire and industrial safety norms were being followed. After autopsy, the two deceased firefighters were given a ceremonial farewell at Police Lines in Surajpur.
