Computers and other valuables were destroyed in a major fire that engulfed the first floor of a five-storey building at Garvebhavipalya near Kudlu Gate on the outskirts of the City, late Friday night. However, there were no casualties.
Twenty-three fire tenders and a team of about 130 firefighters were battling the blaze till late night as flames threatened to spread to the entire building.
The fire was first noticed at about 7 pm in the first floor office of R-Logic Technology Services (India) Pvt Ltd. Before the blaze could spread, the workers on night duty managed to safely exit the building and alert the fire department. Friday being weekend, a majority of the employees had left the place around 6.30 pm.
Although the fire tenders were at the spot by 8.30 pm, firemen found it tough to douse the flames that raged through the building where highly inflammable material were stored.
Fire-fighting equipment in the building reportedly failed to work. Fire force officials said the extinguishers were not functioning and there were no regular checks.
With thick smoke billowing out from the building, the fire brigade found the operation extremely tough to handle. They had to depend on other offices in the vicinity to source water.
Their effort was also to prevent the fire from spreading to the third and fourth floors that housed another office, the Tejas Services. Tejas had also office spaces in another block of the same building.
Eye-witnesses claimed they had heard an explosion soon after the fire broke out, and the windowpanes had shattered. However, this was not immediately confirmed. Senior officials of the Fire and Emergency Services, including Director B G Chengappa, said a short-circuit could have triggered the fire.
The preparedness level of the building for a fire of this magnitude was apparently low. Many were heard complaining that no lessons were learnt after the Carlton Towers fire mishap on Old Airport Road, a tragedy that had caused several deaths and called for a complete overhaul of fire safety measures in high-rise buildings across the City.