Fire personnel battled for hours on Tuesday after an agarbathi factory, tucked away between houses in the residential area of Kadirenahalli near Banashankari, went up in flames early on Tuesday.
The fire destroyed lakhs worth of raw materials and finished products in the building belonging to Balaji Agarbathi Ltd. Fire officials said it was “sheer luck” there were no casualties or major injuries considering that neighbouring houses were barely a few feet away from the four-storey facility.
The fire was first spotted by Muniraju, who was cleaning his house for a puja to be held later that day. “Around 4.45 a.m., I saw fire and then thick smoke coming out of the factor windows. Neighbours then started evacuating their houses as the thickly-scented smoke engulfed the street,” he said.
Students flee
Inmates of a girl's hostel adjacent to the factory, woken by the ominous, aromatic smoke, ran to safety. “Nearly 30 girls, all students of a nursing college nearby, were rushed out of their rooms immediately,” said Rekha, who assists the cook in the hostel.
The fire control room was informed around 5 a.m. and the first engine arrived within half an hour through the narrow bylanes. “Nineteen fire tenders and more than 90 firemen doused the flames,” said Annegowda, Regional Fire Officer (West).
Though the fire was brought under control in 30 minutes, fire officials were at the scene till about 3 p.m., removing wood sticks, chemicals, and drums containing oil and scent from the factory to prevent any embers reigniting the fire.
None of the 80 employees were on the premises and the only injury happened to Shivprasad, a fireman attached to North-West Fire station, who cut his hand with a glass shard fell.
No fire safety
“The place followed no safety precautions, with not one fire extinguisher or even buckets of water. Moreover, drums of flammable material were stocked everywhere and heaps of dry sticks strewn around, making it difficult and dangerous for fire personnel to move about,” said Mr. Annegowda.
Even by evening, no case had been registered against the factory owners. Mr. Annegowda said the fire department would take necessary action against them.
However, Balaji and his younger brother, Bhaskar, who own the factory, insisted they were licensed to run it. “The factory has been running for around 20 years now, and the neighbouring residential buildings have been constructed only after we were well established,” said Mr. Bhaskar.
