Hyderabad: The investigation into the fire that broke out at Sarvodaya Solvent Pvt Ltd in IDA Cherlapally on Tuesday evening is ongoing, with authorities suspecting that static current in solvents might have been the trigger, contrary to the initial claim of an electrical short circuit by the factory management.

Medchal-Malkajgiri Inspector of Factories, K. Sridhara Rao, stated that a preliminary examination of the factory site indicated that the fire may have been caused by sparks from a goods carrier vehicle parked on the premises. These sparks are believed to have reacted with highly inflammable chemicals, leading to the fire and causing a structural column to collapse.

While the factory's fire safety system was reportedly in place, the investigation is focusing on whether the goods carrier was loaded with chemicals and whether it had a spark arrestor, which helps prevent fires by trapping and neutralizing sparks from vehicle exhaust systems. The driver of the vehicle, however, remains unreachable for further inquiry.

At the time of the fire, the factory was undergoing maintenance between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday. However, solvent distillation, a process that separates mixtures by applying heat, was still taking place. The inspection revealed that at least seven tanks containing 5-10 kilolitres of solvents and chemicals, including flammable substances like methanol, toluene, and cyclohexane, were present on the premises.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the factory management, they have not been responsive since the fire occurred. The Factories Department plans to issue notices to the management as part of the ongoing investigation. Authorities are working to determine whether proper safety measures were followed and to ascertain the full cause of the fire.