Fire accidents add up in Feb

ANOTHER FIRE IN DELHI-THIS TIME IN A SHOE FACTORY

 

A fire broke out early in the morning on Tuesday, 19th February in Delhi's Narela industrial area.

 

The blaze occurred at a shoe factory, and 12 fire tenders were at the spot, ANI reported.

 

No casualties have been reported so far.

 

 

 

A number of major fires have broken out in the capital in recent weeks, including the blaze at the Karol Bagh hotel that killed 17 people. The Delhi government has cancelled the fire safety certificates of several hotels inspected in the Karol Bagh area.

 

 

FIRE IN PETROL PUMP HITS VENEZUELA HARD IN LEAN TIMES

 

Venezuela is having more than its share of problems on the economic front-particularly in the oil and gas segment. The story got worse with a fire accident that took place on 19th February. The fire engulfed a crude oil pumping station in Venezuela's Orinoco belt region on Tuesday, state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) said, disrupting crude transportation as the cash-strapped firm struggles with the impact of U.S. sanctions.

 

The fire at the Ero pumping station, which has the capacity to transport 300,000 barrels per day of crude, was controlled and no one was injured, the company said in a statement. But the incident will affect transport of crude through pipelines, a source at the company said, without providing further details.

 

The incident comes weeks after the United States slapped sanctions on PDVSA to try to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power. Venezuela, a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), holds the world's largest crude reserves, but production has collapsed amid mismanagement and an economic crisis.

 

In the statement, PDVSA said the fire was caused by "an act of sabotage perpetrated by the right-wing opposition." PDVSA said the Ero station receives crude from its Petrocarabobo oilfield, a joint venture with Spain's Repsol, and from its Petroindependencia joint venture, which is 34 percent owned by Chevron. PDVSA's facilities for producing, refining and transporting oil and fuel often experience outages due to a lack of spare parts and delayed maintenance following years of underinvestment.

 

 

BREACH CANDY FIRE ADDS TO MUMBAI’S DISMAL FIRE SAFETY COUNT

 

A fire broke out early morning on 20th February at a building in South Mumbai. Eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, according to news agency ANI. The 'Level-3' fire, which started at the Dharam Villa building at Bhulabhai Desai Marg, located in south Mumbai's posh Breach Candy area, was doused after much effort. There have been no reports of casualties or injuries, according to news agency ANI.

 

Fire disasters are particularly frequent in Mumbai where millions live in cramped and dilapidated properties because of high realty prices and rentals.  Mumbai has had a particularly bad time on the fire accident front in recent times with the Kamala Mills tragedy, slum fires near Bandra station and the ESIC hospital blaze.