BHUBANESWAR: Property worth crores of rupees was destroyed in a massive fire that erupted at SP Super Mart and a plastic articles godown in Lingipur area on Monday night. Such was the intensity of the blaze that it required an 18-hour overnight operation for the firefighters to contain it.
The fire erupted in the second floor of the four-storey (G+3) building after 10 pm, possibly due to a short circuit. On being alerted about the incident at around 10.33 pm, multiple teams from the Odisha Fire and Emergency Service rushed to the spot. Two staff of the mart, who were trapped in the building when the fire broke out, were safely rescued.
Sources said the building houses the super mart on the ground floor and has household wholesale plastic items godown in the remaining three floors. While the ground and the first floors were partially affected, a remote-controlled firefighting robotic monitor was positioned to tackle the intense blaze on the second floor. Meanwhile, the fire quickly spread to the third floor.
About 20 firefighting vehicles with different water carrying capacities like 15,000 litre, 10,000 litre and 3,000 litre were mobilised and the blaze was eventually brought under control after 4 pm. More than 60 fire personnel were deployed for the operation.
The tenant of the affected building, Subhash Jajati, said he incurred a loss of `4 crore to `5 crore due to the fire accident. Though he claimed that the required safety measures were in place, the authorities pointed out the building did not have fire safety approval.
Odisha Fire and Emergency Service department said an investigation has been launched and further action will be taken accordingly. “Firefighters were asked not to enter the top floor as the structure had become unstable. All operations were conducted from outside as there was no threat to life,” said DG Fire Services Sudhanshu Sarangi adding, all the personnel involved in the strenuous operation will be suitably rewarded.