Noida dump yard fire doused after 100 hours

A fire that had broken out in a dumping yard of horticulture department here was completely extinguished after 100 hours on Friday, according to officials.

Around 150 firefighters, 15 water tenders and multiple earthmovers were deployed at the site and more than an estimated 35 lakh litres of water used to control the fire, the officials said.

The fire broke out around 6 pm Monday at a plot in Sector 32 which was being used as by Noida Authority's horticulture department to store pruned trees.

''In the evening of March 25, the day of Holi, we were alerted about a fire in the dumping yard where dry leaves and woods were being dumped by the horticulture department. We had rushed 15 water tenders to the site and today, after five days, we have completely extinguished the fire,'' Noida's Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said.

Two water tenders are still stationed at the yard as a precautionary measure, he said.

Choubey said wind and sun posed major challenges for firefighters in controlling the blaze.

''The dumping pit was around 3-ft to 40 ft deep in which dry leaves and wood was stored. We kept pouring water into it but that did not percolate easily. JCBs, water tankers, etc were roped in and that helped us significantly,'' the CFO said.

Earlier on Thursday, Choubey told PTI that 150 firefighters had been deployed at the site and with the help of 15 water tenders they were trying to completely douse the flames that had erupted inside the plot, measuring 2 km by 1.5 km.

''We have 15 water tenders. Six of them have a capacity of 12,000 litres while the rest have 5,000 litres capacity. Ever since the fire broke out, these fire tenders have refilled water 40 to 50 times on an average,'' Choubey said, adding an estimated around 35 lakh litres of water has been used so far.

A major fire had broken out at the same location on May 18 last year which then took almost six days to be doused.

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