Scattered debris & smoke-blackened walls: Shocked locals recount Saturday fire horror in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The acrid smell of burnt plastic hung in the air on Sunday at Rajanna Lane, Thigalarpet, where a five-storey building fire killed five people in the early hours of Saturday.

The usually busy street fell silent as residents gathered around the charred structure. Debris lay scattered, and smoke-blackened walls bore testimony to the devastation.

"We are still trying to extinguish the smoke. It was so thick that breathing was difficult, and visibility was very low,” said Vincent R, assistant fire station officer. Burning plastics made rescue almost impossible. "You cannot even last two minutes inside that building,” he added.

The blaze, suspected to have been caused by an electrical short-circuit, started a little after 3 am on the ground floor godown stacked with rubber mats and plastic-wrapped clothes. Five people, including a couple and their two children, died, while 17 others escaped unhurt.

Fire officials said the control room received the distress call at 3.15 am, and five water bowsers were dispatched. “Had we received the information earlier, we could have saved their lives,” said an officer.

Locals described scenes of panic. “The fire broke out at the entrance, making it impossible to help those inside. We were helpless,” said shopkeeper Fardin.

Another shopkeeper, Vicky Jain, commended the swift response of the police and fire personnel.

The four-storey building in Thigalarpet that caught fire on Saturday.

Relatives were inconsolable. “I have lived here for 35 years and never seen a fire accident of this scale,” said Kanthilal, a family member.

The Halasuru Gate police arrested the building owners — Balakrishnayya Shetty, 68, and Sandeep Shetty, 44 — on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Their custody has been secured for questioning.