BENGALURU: As many as 12 research laboratories were reportedly destroyed in an early morning accidental fire on Tuesday, at the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) -- located at the Helix Biotech Park, IBAB Campus, Electronics City Phase 1. No casualties have been reported in the incident.
The BBC comes under the Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS), Department of IT, BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka. The 50,000-sq ft centre is located on a 10-acre campus.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge visited the spot to inspect the damage. Later, the Department of IT & BT, in a statement, said the mishap was due to improper management of flammable solvent in a lab. The preliminary estimation of loss sustained by startups ranged from Rs 80-110 crore, while the estimated loss to BBC properties was approximately Rs 42 crore.
“The fire erupted at Galore Tx startup room on the second floor (ESF07 lab) due to improper management of flammable solvent in their lab. All BBC startups were previously informed to not store and use any large volume of inflammable chemicals in their lab and a separate open storage area was provided for the same,” the statement read.
The second floor of the facility, which was recently revamped to house more number of startups, was completely gutted, while extensive damage was also sustained to first and ground floors due to the interconnected HVAC lines, the department added.
“The fire severely damaged common infrastructure of BBC including the Bangalore Bio Bank, Cleanroom facility, Flowcytometry, HVAC units, AC units, among others. Several of the Incubated startups who had equipment of their own, also sustained serious damage to their consumables and IP products,” the department stated.
Meanwhile, the fire department said, “A security guard, after noticing the fire, alerted the fire control room. In all, four fire-engines, including an Aerial Ladder Platform from a private firm, brought the fire under control by 8.30 am.”