Lucky escape from fire for labourers sleeping in factory

Around 10 labourers had a narrow escape after a fire broke out in a furniture factory in northern Bengaluru’s Hegde Nagar in the early hours of Friday, police said.

It was sheer luck that Farhan, one of the employees of Sri Ranga Furniture Pvt Ltd who woke up around 2.15 am to relieve himself, found flames in a pile of dry garbage dumped just outside the factory. He alerted a local resident who called the fire brigade 15 minutes later.

Firefighters doused the fire before it could fully destroy the factory. Ravi, a local resident, said Farhan didn’t know whom to contact when he saw the fire. “I helped him call the police and the fire brigade. I then asked him to wake up other labourers sleeping in the factory. They all came out running,” he added.

The labourers are from North India. The factory is owned by Damodar, a resident of Kodigehalli.

Local residents suspect that the fire was triggered by some mischievous youth who left a burning cigarette stub in the pile of waste. Ragpickers and local youths also frequent the place to smoke ganja. They may have also triggered the fire, according to residents.

Police have taken up a case following a complaint by the factory manager, Kabir, and are reviewing the CCTV footage to figure out what happened.