Navi Mumbai:A massive fire broke out at the chemical warehouse of JWR Logistics Pvt Ltd, a cargo company, near Padeghar in Panvel on Saturday afternoon. The roar of the fire and the sound of the explosion spread panic in the area, and traffic was disrupted for some time. No casualties were reported. The company, spread over 97 acres along the NH-4B highway and located 11 km from JNPT, has a container freight station and a hazardous warehouse.A fire official said, “The container yard and warehouse on the premises were stocked with hazardous materials like barrels containing tar and highly inflammable chemicals, which acted as fodder for the fire to rage and spread to the premises, engulfing even the containers parked at the premises. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The workers at the container yard were caught unawares due to abrupt fire breakout and ran for their lives as the fire spread to the containers. No casualty was reported as the workers at the container yard immediately evacuated when the fire broke out.”Vijay Rane, chief fire officer of Cidco, said, “It took around five hours to douse the fire, followed by the cooling operation, which will be a time-consuming process, since the firefighters are continuously spraying water jets and foam to prevent the fire from reigniting as the details of the storage of materials at the premises are yet to be obtained from the concerned authorities of JWR Logistics Park.”Atul Dahiphale, senior inspector of Uran traffic unit, said, “The stretch of road leading to the container yard was cordoned off for 1 km distance and the vehicular movement was diverted while the firefighting operation was in progress.”
