A suspicious fire broke out in a warehouse belonging to Kingfisher Airlines, destroying aircraft spare parts and other accessories stored there Friday morning.
Though the godown houses aircraft spare parts, computers, expensive accessories and stationery, no staff or security were present at the time. Moreover, there were no security measures like CCTV and proper fire safety equipment.
The fire was reported to the emergency services by the owner of the building, who lives nearby. Some 13 fire tenders and 80 fire fighters worked for five hours to douse the blaze.
The Fire and Emergency Services said it was difficult to pin the source of the blaze.
“There were no vents, exhaust fans and no emergency exits,” said a senior fire official who was part of the operation.
Smoke had engulfed the entire building and the fire fighters broke open the roof to let it out, he added.
There were some fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, but all were defunct. “It looked like the [latter] were there just for the heck of it and was not activated,” Chief Fire Officer (West Division) Markadeya told The Hindu .
The warehouse itself appeared to have been constructed in haste and had not obtained a No Objection Certificate from the Fire and Emergency Services.
None of the fire safety equipments installed at the warehouse has been certified by officials.
A senior police officer described the fire as fishy and said there would be a detailed investigation. “The value of the lost goods is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
