The Fire and Emergency Services Department has blamed the local authority (the erstwhile Bommanahalli City Municipal Council) which sanctioned the licence to the Berger Paints godown which went up in flames.
The department believes that the fire mishap could have been prevented if the authority which issued trade licence to this building had checked the safety measures taken by the building owners.
“We follow the National Building Code. This building that had one ground floor and one more floor might not ideally need a clearance from the Fire Department but considering that they were stocking flammable material, they should have sought for a no objection certificate,” said Om Prakash, DGP, Fire and Emergency Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence.
He added that the licencing authority should have checked all of these things. “They should have checked if the building adhered to all the required safety measures. We found that they had absolutely no fire safety tools only after the building caught fire,” he added.
“This is being called the second largest inferno after Carlton Towers. The fire fighters had just a handkerchief and no other gear. Even the motorcycles that carry fire fighting chemicals were not employed,” said Jaykiran, an eyewitness.
Uday Vijayan, founder of Beyond Carlton NGO said, “Fire safety has been neglected not only in Bangalore, but across the country. The fire department is definitely short-staffed and the government has to look into it.”