A fire broke out in a chemical factory in an industrial compound in Howrah’s Domjur on Monday afternoon. Flames leapt across the compound, making the work of the firefighters and police difficult.

The police said there was no report of anyone being trapped in the fire till Monday evening.

A senior officer of Howrah City police said the factory stored inflammable chemicals like ethyl acetate and toluene, which aggravated the fire.

Fire department officials confirmed that the chemicals stored in the factory were industrial solvents and inflammable.

Fifteen fire tenders were pressed into action to bring the flames under control.

“Till now, there is no information of anyone being trapped in the factory. We will search once the fire is doused completely,” said Howrah City police commissioner Praveen Tripathi.

After the fire was reported, it took several hours for the firefighters to approach the spot because of the tremendous heat generated by the flames.

“We were trying to fight the fire from a distance. We could only close in after the flames started to subside. The biggest challenge was the presence of the chemicals stored inside, as we could hear explosions inside,” said an officer of the fire services directorate.

Fire officials said a preliminary inquiry revealed that distillation work was on when the fire broke out. The exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained till Monday evening.