A major fire that broke out in a furnace oil storage tank at Ambe Steel in Bakaspur, Janaki Rural Municipality-5 of Banke district, destroyed property worth an estimated Rs 15.6 million in the early hours of Thursday. The blaze erupted at around 1:30 am at the factory, which is also referred to as Ambe Steels Factory, and was later brought under control, according to the District Police Office, Banke.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Pratit Singh Rathaur, the information officer at the District Police Office, Banke, said the fire was caused by a short-circuit. His account provided the first official word on both the trigger behind the blaze and the scale of the losses left behind at the industrial unit. The details of the incident, including the police assessment of the damage, were carried by Khabarhub.
Key Facts at a Glance
- What happened: A fire broke out in a furnace oil tank at Ambe Steel, also referred to as Ambe Steels Factory.
- Where: Bakaspur, Janaki Rural Municipality-5, Banke district.
- When: Early Thursday, at around 1:30 am.
- Cause: A short-circuit, according to police.
- Estimated loss: Property worth around Rs 15.6 million.
- Status: The fire was brought under control.
Short-Circuit Blamed as Blaze Erupts in Furnace Oil Tank
According to the information shared by police, the fire began in a furnace oil tank on the factory premises. Furnace oil is a heavy, petroleum-based fuel commonly used to fire industrial furnaces, including those used in steel manufacturing, and tanks storing the fuel are considered high-risk because the oil is highly combustible. Once ignited, a fire in or around such a storage tank can spread rapidly and burn with intensity, which is significant to the scale of damage recorded at the unit.
DSP Pratit Singh Rathaur, the information officer at the District Police Office in Banke, attributed the ignition to a short-circuit. Electrical faults remain one of the most frequently cited causes of fires across Nepal's homes, businesses and industrial premises, and short-circuits are routinely identified as the starting point of blazes that cause heavy losses in factories and warehouses.
The fire broke out in the middle of the night, at around 1:30 am on Thursday. Police released details of the incident after the flames were brought under control, confirming the location of the fire's origin, its cause and the estimated value of the property destroyed.
Property Worth Rs 15.6 Million Destroyed
The blaze destroyed property valued at an estimated Rs 15.6 million, according to the figures shared by the District Police Office, Banke. The estimate represents the losses recorded at the Ambe Steel premises following the fire, which started in the furnace oil tank and damaged property on the factory site before it was contained.
Police confirmed that the fire was brought under control, although the official information made public so far did not break down the losses by specific sections of the factory. There was also no immediate word on whether anyone was injured in the incident. Detailed assessments of fire damage of this kind typically follow once the flames are fully doused and the affected premises can be examined.
For an industrial unit such as a steel factory, losses on this scale reflect the value of the machinery, raw materials and infrastructure that fires can consume within a short span of time. The combination of combustible fuel storage and heavy industrial equipment makes factory fires particularly costly when they take hold, even when they are eventually brought under control.
Industrial Context and Fire Risk in Banke
Ambe Steel operates in Bakaspur, in Janaki Rural Municipality-5 of Banke district. Banke lies in Lumbini Province in the western Tarai and is home to Nepalgunj, one of the major commercial and industrial centres of western Nepal, which borders India. Industrial establishments, including steel-related operations, form an important part of the economic activity in and around the district.
Furnace oil tanks are a standard feature of steel plants because the fuel is used to heat the furnaces involved in processing steel. Because the oil is flammable, the tanks that hold it are normally treated as sensitive zones within factory premises, and fires that begin in or near them can produce damage running into millions of rupees even when they are contained before spreading further.
The Banke fire serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of industrial units to blazes triggered by electrical faults, particularly where flammable fuel is stored on site. With police attributing the fire at Ambe Steel to a short-circuit, the incident underlines how a single electrical fault can escalate into a large industrial fire overnight, leaving behind losses measured in the millions of rupees.
The District Police Office, Banke, through DSP Pratit Singh Rathaur, remained the primary source of official information on the incident, including the cause of the fire and the estimated extent of the destruction at the factory.
