A massive fire erupted in a diesel-laden tanker at Khera village on the Baddi-Nalagarh highway on Tuesday afternoon, leaving its driver injured.
Chaos and panic gripped the people in the vicinity as they saw the oil tanker in flames. The tanker driver who tried to douse the flames initially on his own sustained injures and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Given the highly inflammable nature of the fire, the tanker was completely engulfed in flames within minutes. Swift action by the Fire Department prevented a major catastrophe.
According to reports, the Fire Department received information about a fire having erupted near Dadi Kaniya village around 3:20 pm. Upon receiving the alert, a team immediately rushed to the site to commence relief and rescue operations.
The tanker, which was ablaze, presented a critical scenario as it posed a risk of the fire spreading to nearby vehicles and establishments.
Acting tactically the fire staff secured the area and began aggressive firefighting to bring the blaze under control. It took about an hour and a half of strenuous effort to douse the blaze with three fire tenders and 11 fire personnel participating in the operation.
The Fire Department estimates the loss at around 10 lakhs while the cause of the blaze was yet to be ascertained.
Santosh Kumar, Commandant, Home Guards, informed that timely action by the fire staff helped prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding area, thereby averting a major disaster while property valued at Rs one crore was saved.
