BUKIT MERTAJAM: A security guard suffered burns in a fire at a factory producing plastic goods at the Permatang Tinggi Industrial Park near here early today, according to the Penang Fire & Rescue Department.
Its operations officer, Mohd Fauzi Suid, said the guard was injured as he was fleeing from the factory, where various acids for the manufacturing process were stored.
“The man was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital,” he said, adding that he had yet to be identified.
Mohd Fauzi said the department was alerted to the fire at 1.21am and it rushed 50 firefighters to the factory where the fire occurred at the acid storage area.
“More than 30 containers with various acids such as nitric acid, caustic soda flakes, hydrogen peroxide, sulphuric acid, Interox ST-50 and natrium hydroxide stored outside the factory building had caught fire,” he said.
Mohd Fauzi said a squad from the Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Unit of the department was at the scene to supervise the firefighting operation, made difficult by the chemical reaction of the acids.
He also said that the firefighters used a forklift to relocate the materials before putting out the fire at 5.33am.
The cause of the fire and damage had yet to be ascertained, he said. — Bernama
