Bhopal: A major fire broke out at a plywood and wooden goods manufacturing unit in the Govindpura Industrial Area late Friday night, destroying large quantities of timber, chemicals and thinner stored inside the premises.
The blaze erupted at Shubham Enterprises, a unit engaged in manufacturing doors, blackboards and plywood products. The presence of highly flammable materials caused the fire to spread rapidly, making firefighting operations difficult.
Fire tenders from multiple stations across the city, along with water tankers, were deployed to contain the blaze. Officials said around 100 tanker loads of water were used over nearly nine hours before the fire was largely brought under control by Saturday morning. However, smouldering continued in parts of the unit until midday.
Firefighting teams remained on site overnight as cooling operations continued. Heavy machinery was used to partially bring down sections of the structure to access burning material and prevent flare-ups.
Officials said chemicals stored inside the unit intensified the fire, leading to repeated reignition despite continuous water spraying.
Nearby industrial units were protected as firefighters focused on preventing the spread of flames.
Preliminary assessment suggests a possible short-circuit as the cause of the fire, though a detailed investigation is underway. Authorities said the incident is likely to have caused losses worth several crore rupees.
