Massive fire at market complex in Bhubaneswar brought under control after 19 hours, no casualty

Bhubaneswar, Feb 24 (PTI) The massive fire at a market complex in Lingipur area here was brought under control after 19 hours of operation, officials said on Tuesday.

There were no reports of any injuries or fatalities due to the fire that broke out around 10 pm on Monday night, and spread to the entire four-storey building, as a large stock of inflammable materials, including plywood, rubber and plastic, was stored in the mall, they said.

Two employees trapped in the fire have been rescued immediately from the complex, officials said.

A total of 60 fire tenders were pressed into service to contain the inferno, which continued to rage for 19 hours till 6 pm, a fire service officer said.

"Our team has doused the flames on three floors of the four-storey market complex. It was difficult for firefighters to conduct the operation because only one entrance was there to the building and there was no window or other space to enter into the mall," said Sudhanshu Sarangi, DG of Fire and Emergency Services.

The fire service officers broke down a portion of the side wall of the building to spray water inside the structure, he said.

"Through the blaze was brought under control, our officers will remain there to see further outbreak of fire, if any," the fire service DG said. The blaze was so extensive that the building was also damaged in the incident.

Sarangi said only civil engineers can give opinion whether the building is safe or not after inspection.

While the first two floors of the building were used for sale purposes, different items, including huge plastic, rubber and other items, were stored in the other two floors used as godown, said the shop owner. The mall owner also claimed that properties worth Rs 4 crore were gutted in the fire incident.

The blaze is suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit, officials said. PTI BBM AAM RBT AAM RG