Another fire at Kumbarpet in Bengaluru, narrow lanes block fire tenders

Bengaluru: A suspected short-circuit ignited an accidental fire on the ground and first floors of the four-storey Lakshmi Complex in Kumbarpet, Chickpet, around 8.30am Wednesday, with highly inflammable goods and narrow lanes worsening the situation. No casualties were reported.In Aug last year, five persons sleeping inside a commercial building were charred to death less than one km away from Wednesday's incident.
Fire officials said what could have been a small fire in Lakshmi Complex multiplied several-fold because perfumes, cosmetics, skincare and other beauty products were stored unscientifically in a room without ventilation.While no civilians were injured, four firefighters — Mahadev, Akshay Channa Gauder, Kumar Matapati and Jagadeesh Pawar — sustained burns in addition to facing respiratory problems. Chief fire officer PS Jayaram said every possible guideline was flouted by the building owner in the commercial hub. "A no-objection certificate from the fire department wasn't there; there were no smoke detectors, no fire alarms. The entire building was used for storing different products — ranging from cricket balls to cosmetics and other inflammable products," he said.Access constraints delayed fire-control operations. "Fire tenders were forced to park on the main road and pipes were pulled for a distance of around one kilometre. Narrow lanes obstructed free movement of the fire tenders," an official said.NO LESSONS LEARNTAfter the tragedy in Aug last year, the govt laid down several guidelines for high-rise commercial buildings, mainly stating that business houses and stockyards shouldn't be run in narrow lanes and unscientifically constructed buildings. Fire officials said apathy of the building and shop owners was again on display with this incident."Nothing has changed since Aug — buildings, staircases, narrow lanes, unscientifically stored stocks, large godowns without ventilation and most importantly, not bothering to get no-objection certificates from the fire and emergency department," a senior fire officer told TOI.