NTU chemistry lab catches fire; air over surrounding area monitored

Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) Taipei firefighters have put out a fire at a laboratory used by National Taiwan University's (NTU) Department of Chemistry that erupted early Friday, but environment officials remained at the site to monitor air quality in the surrounding area.

Inspectors from the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection measured the levels of possible hazardous substances in the air over the area near the lab on Roosevelt Road, and as of noon they had not detected anything abnormal.

The on-site monitoring targeted flammable gas, volatile organic matter and ammonia, and all measurements were within normal ranges, the inspectors said, while pledging to continue to monitor the quality of the air in that part of Taipei.

The rapid response came after Taipei authorities were criticized for responding too slowly in warning of noxious fumes after a fire at an electronics warehouse in New Taipei on Tuesday polluted the air in Greater Taipei.

The NTU lab caught fire at 5:33 a.m., the university said in a statement, and it was put out by local firefighters a half hour later, with no teachers and students injured during the accident.

An investigation into the fire is now underway, NTU said, and it is also assessing property losses.

According to city firefighters, a total of 23 vehicles, including 18 fire fighting trucks and two ambulances, and 61 firefighters and paramedics were dispatched to the scene, a lab on the 7th floor of the chemistry department's building.

The fire was extinguished at 6:06 a.m., they said, adding that roughly 2 square meters of space were burned in the blaze.