Fire breaks out at plastic scrapyard in Bengaluru; no casualties, 27 vehicles gutted

The jurisdictional police have taken up the probe and are investigating multiple angles, including accidental fire, intentional and arson, well-placed sources said.

Bengaluru: A fire broke out at an open plastic scrapyard at Gangondanahalli near Nayandahalli in western Bengaluru in the early hours of Friday. Nobody was injured.

Police said 26 autorickshaws, including goods and passenger carriers, and a car were gutted.

The Fire and Emergency Services department deployed five engines from Nagarabhavi and nearby stations after an alert at 1.45 am.

"The fire was doused soon,” a senior firefighter told DH. "Around 6 am, the final inspection to ensure that there were no remnants that can rekindle the blaze was completed."

Firefighters said that the open scrapyard was about 100 feet x 200 feet. An open space adjacent to it was used as a parking lot, at a rate of Rs 30 per night per vehicle, officials said, adding that a security guard was also deployed there, who used to leave late in the night.

The raging fire ravaged the vehicles in the parking spot. The goods vehicles were used to collect scrap from around the city and it was sorted in the scrapyard. "Some of these goods vehicles had plastic scrap materials in it and that may have amplified the fire," an investigator said.

A probe is being conducted by the Chandra Layout police. The reason for the blaze is yet to be established.

A police officer close to the investigation said the scrapyard belonged to one Rizwan, but the land was owned by someone else. “Investigations and forensic reports will reveal what caused the fire,” the officer said.