A fire broke out in a mall being constructed next to a large apartment complex located on Kanakapura Road, South Bengaluru, on Saturday. There were no casualties.
Another accidental fire was reported from an unauthorised gas-refilling centre in Govindaraj Nagar, West Bengaluru, in which two people suffered 5% burns each.
At the under-construction mall situated adjacent to Prestige Falcon City, Konanakunte Cross, it was more smoke than fire but it caused panic among local
residents as well as passersby, officials said.
The incident was reported to the fire brigade by a person named Srinivas around 12.45 pm. Srinivas, who works in a private firm whose offices are located in an adjacent building, told the fire brigade that he saw a plume of black smoke rising from the mall in the making.
A fire department official said that the fire was suspected to have occurred on the third floor or terrace of the building. Thermocol (polystyrene) was used in the roofing, which enabled the fire to spread to all the floors within minutes.
Firefighters soon arrived at the spot with a water tanker and a water bowser, but it took two hours to douse the flames.
Labourers working in the building evacuated in the nick of time.
In the other incident, the fire broke out when gas was being refilled from one cylinder to another in the verandah of a house that doubled up as a gas refilling centre. The gas leaked and led to the fire.
Police said the house owner’s son, identified as Vinay, 30, had been illegally running a gas-refilling agency.
Vinay and an employee named Kumar, 24, sustained about 5% burn injuries each and have been hospitalised.
It was a miracle that none of the over 20 LPG cylinders stored in the house caught fire or exploded, a senior police officer said.
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