3k workers evacuated as fire triggers panic at tech park

Inferno originated on 2nd floor of executive centre at Manyata

Panic gripped Manyata Tech Park, off Hebbal, late Tuesday afternoon as fire broke out due to electric short-circuit and spread up to the 11th floor. Around 3,000 people working in various IT and ITeS firms were evacuated safely from different floors.

While office paraphernalia including furniture and files on a few floors were gutted, no one was injured in the incident. Three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire, said the jurisdictional Sampigehalli police.

The fire broke out in the second floor of Mfar Greeheart building around 4 pm. Soon, the Park’s embassy staff called up the fire station. The fire alert call was received at 4.02 pm and the three fire tenders from the Hebbal fire station located inside the Park were sent to the spot, said the police.

The firemen immediately reached the 11th floor through aerial ladder platform and doused the fire and smoke in different floors, while the local police, firemen and the embassy staff evacuated about 3000 professionals working in different floors safely.

“The fire triggered inside the electrical duct which went till the terrace within no time.

About five floors in the block were unoccupied. It was basically smoke that caused tension, but not the fire,” DGP, Home Guards, Fire & Emergency Services and Civil Defence M N Reddi told Deccan Herald. There were no casualties in the mishap, he clarified.

Harish, a techie and an eyewitness said: “ We noticed thick cloud of smoke atop the building and thought that it could be a major fire. It took some time for us to realise that it was only the smoke that had caused panic.”

He said that the embassy staff and others evacuated the professionals from different floors and everybody resumed work around evening.

“ Santosh, a techie working in the 8th floor, fell ill for a brief period due to suffocation. He was immediately given first-aid treatment and rushed to the hospital. He was discharged after some time,” said Sampigehalli police inspector.

The loss due to the fire mishap could be minimal, but a few windowpanes and office materials were damaged. The Park management is yet to lodge a complaint, said the police and added that the normalcy in the Park was restored around 5.30 pm.

The local police are ascertaining if the management had ensured inbuilt fire fighting facility as per the National Building Code and Local Zonal Regulations. It was not immediately known if there was an officer and staff trained in fire fighting, said the police.