Flight materials gutted

Flight materials of Kingfisher Airlines worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted when the Airlines’ warehouse, off Bellary Road, near Devanahalli Road caught fire on Friday.

As many as 15 fire tenders were pressed into service and 80 firemen battled for more than four hours to douse the fire. Though the cause for the mishap is yet to be ascertained, Regional Fire Officer Ravindra said negligence on the part of airline staff could have triggered the incident.

Kingfisher Airlines has a two-storey warehouse close to the Bengaluru International Airport. The land is owned by Munegowda who had rented it out to Lakshmi Balaji Warehousing Co for a period of eight years. The warehousing company, in turn, had sub-leased it to Kingfisher Airlines a few years ago. Currently, eight executive staff work in the warehouse where flight uniforms, documents, seating cushions, tyres and spare parts were stored, said the local police.

A few staff noticed thick smoke inside the building at around 11 am and ran out as the fire spread in all directions within no time. A few local residents rushed to the spot after the staff raised alarm. They alerted the fire department who rushed the fire tenders.

The Airlines management had ensured fire safety measures by fixing fire extinguishers, but they were not properly serviced. Moreover,none was trained to handle the extinguishing, said the fire officials.