In one of the biggest fires the city has seen, a warehouse stocked with paint, thinner and other highly combustible substances went up in flames, throwing huge clouds of smoke and noxious fumes in Garebhavipalya off Hosur Road.
The inferno, first noticed around 9.45 a.m. in the warehouse rented by Berger Paints in Bommanahalli, took almost 10 hours to be completely doused though fire services prevented it spreading within two hours. The loss has not been estimated yet as the part of the warehouse and factory also collapsed.
An eyewitness, Harish, said minutes after the fire broke out, he noticed smoke which rose up to 60 feet high. Thick clouds of black smoke and toxic fumes could be seen from a great distance, drawing curious crowds and causing traffic jam on Hosur Road for a while.
While around 10 fire tenders rushed to the spot first, another 20 arrived as it raged out of control. Around noon, it spread to the adjoining two-storey building, bringing down part of the warehouse and the factory building around 1.15 p.m. Building owner Anand Reddy said: “I was alerted about the fire when my driver Govindappa called to say fumes were emerging from the building.” He called the Fire Department but they were already on their way. By 10.10 a.m., the area was secured. Fortunately, there was no one in the warehouse. An adjacent building housed a garment factory on the first floor, which was evacuated.
Staff flee
Manjunath, an employee of the garment factory, said he noticed smoke around 9.45 am. “I came to work around 9.15 a.m. and about 20 or 25 workers were there in the factory. When we saw smoke around 9.45 a.m. we immediately evacuated the building,” he said.
The garment factory building has been rented by a textile engineer Prashant, a resident of Banashankari, who had been running it for the past eight years.
Meanwhile, a Berger Paints spokesperson confirmed nobody was injured in the fire at the warehouse, one of the three in the city. Company officials suspect a short circuit led to the fire.
