A fire broke out in a two-storeyed building inside Biocon Park off Jigani Link Road on Monday evening. There were no casualties reported but the fire, which started around 7.45 p.m., took nearly three hours to be put out.
The labs were closed for the day by the time the fire started. A few security guards and other staff members who were near the building were immediately rescued and did not suffer any injuries.
The building where the fire broke out belongs to Sygene, a subsidiary of Biocon, and housed multiple labs, sources said. “The fire broke out in what appears to be a storeroom behind the lab on the second floor. The fire soon spread to all of the first and second floors, gutting two labs in the process,” said H.S. Revanna, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Fire and Emergency Services, who led the operation to put out the fire. He said the presence of large quantities of inflammable solvents, plastic and fibre-like mats caused the fire to spread faster, making it more difficult to put it out.
Eight fire tenders were deployed and nearly 100 fire rescuers pressed into action for nearly three hours. Senior Fire and Emergency Services officers said that while a short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire, it can be ascertained only on Tuesday morning. Then, it will also be found if adequate fire safety measures were taken in the building, they added.
In a statement, Syngene said that preliminary reports indicate that no one was injured in the incident. It added that they have taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of their employees.
