Fire engulfs paper mill in Muzaffarnagar

Silver Tone Pulp and Paper Mill’s waste yard was engulfed by a massive fire on 12 May. The paper mill located at Bopa Road in the city of Muzaffarnagar is said to have been fanned by winds blowing at 25-km/hr. Due to the speed of the wind, the fire reached the inside of the mill causing it to expand, engulfing the entire mill.

The fire department was informed and firefighters reached the mill with three water tankers to control the fire. To douse the fire, the fire department faced several challenges. Additional support was called for from Jansath and Budhana. Tankers were also summoned from Bindal, Meenu, and other factories. Later, teams with three more tankers had to be called in from Saharanpur, Shamli, and Meerut. Even by late evening, the fire could not be extinguished.

The paper mill workers on the one hand were trying to extinguish the fire and on the other, save whatever they could rescue from the blaze. With the help of a JCB machine, mill workers were able to save goods worth lakhs. According to reports, one mill worker was engulfed by the fire and another fainted due to the smoke and regained consciousness after quite some time.

The amount of the loss hasn’t been confirmed, it is being estimated that the loss could be in crores.