BENGALURU: An accidental fire broke out in the second floor of a shopping complex at Kasavanahalli on Sarjapur Road on Saturday. Six fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire. No casualties were reported.
A senior fire officer said the fire broke out around 8.30 am at Stop and Shop and thick smoke started billowing from the second floor of the five-storey building. Firemen battled the blaze for two-and-half hours. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Earlier, four staffers at the store noticed the fire and ran to the terrace fearing that they may be caught inside. They crossed over to another building before fire officials reached the spot. Garments worth a few lakh rupees were gutted.
The complex had no fire safety measures and a lot of garbage is dumped at the staircase and corner. A case of negligence has been filed against the owner and further investigations are on, said Sarjapur police.
Narendra, one of the employee of Stop and Shop who escaped the fire, said, “Four of us were on the second floor where the fire broke out. We ran to the fifth floor and came out through the neighbouring building. There was thick smoke and it was dark when we managed to climb to the terrace. Then I alerted the fire and emergency service who reached the spot within ten minutes and doused the fire. There was panic for a while in the area and traffic was thrown out of gear.”