The fire broke out at the factory, which has been operating for around five years and makes tyre oil by heating discarded tyres in a sealed chamber without oxygen. (Representative image)

2 killed in fire at UP tyre oil factory, owner says bidi may have triggered blaze

A fire at a tyre oil factory in UP's Kanpur Dehat district killed two workers who were trapped in a high tank. Police are probing the cause, including the factory owner's claim that bidis carried by workers may have sparked the blaze.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Fire broke out while workers loaded tyres into 30-ft high tank
  • 4 workers, tanker driver escaped safely; thick black smoke visible for 2 km
  • Owner suspects bidi smoking may have triggered blaze

Two workers were charred to death after a fire broke out at a tyre oil factory in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat on Monday evening, officials said.

The two men were on a tank around 30 ft high when the blaze erupted. Trapped by the flames, they fell to the ground, while four other workers and a tanker driver managed to escape.

The fire broke out at the factory, which has been operating for around five years and makes tyre oil by heating discarded tyres in a sealed chamber without oxygen. Officials said the blaze was brought under control in about 40 minutes, and police are investigating its exact cause.

According to officials, the fire started around 5:30 pm when six workers were loading tyres into a tank at the Om JVRD factory near Jariha village in Gajner, about 44 km from the district headquarters. The flames spread quickly, and thick black smoke could be seen from nearly 2 km away.

Chief Fire Officer Prateek Srivastava said he got information about the fire around 5:50 pm and reached the factory with three fire tenders from the Mati fire station. Later, three more fire tenders were called in.

"One of the two oil tanks had caught fire. We immediately began cooling the adjoining tank and used foam to put out the fire," he said.

Superintendent of Police Shraddha Narendra Pandey said the victims were yet to be identified. Pandey, along with Additional SP Alok Prasad and Circle Officer Sanjay Singh, visited the factory and reviewed the situation.

Factory owner Ramesh Chandra Gupta told police that workers had previously been caught carrying bidis into the storage area. He alleged that some workers had again taken bidis inside on Monday and suggested that this could have triggered the fire. Police are examining the claim as part of their investigation into the blaze.

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