Haryana: Raw material, machinery and footwear products worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes in a fire that broke out at a footwear factory of HSIIDC located in Sector-17 of Industrial Town Bahadurgarh on Monday. The exact cause behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. The fire broke out in the early hours when no one was working in the factory. Highly flammable chemicals and other materials were kept in the factory. The fire department received information about the incident at around 4.30 am, after which fire tenders reached the spot. As the fire was severe, more fire tenders were called from other places. It took more than five hours to douse the fire, in which a part of the building was completely damaged. The tin sheds of the factory also collapsed in the incident. Sources said that the building has developed cracks at many places. Bahadurgarh Fire Officer Ramesh Kumar said that due to the presence of flammable chemicals and other materials in the factory, the fire brigade personnel had to struggle a lot to douse the fire. He said, “The fire was so severe that fire engines had to be called from Rohtak, Jhajjar and Delhi. The exact cause of the fire will be known after investigation.”