'Fire fighters worked till 6am for Bangalore factory fire'

Although it’s unconfirmed, the fire at Elastrex Polymers Pvt Ltd on Friday was probably caused due to a short-circuit. Fire and emergency services director BG Chengappa said this was the first time that the department faced a situation where
the personnel’s skills were tested.

“The fire broke out at 3pm and fire-fighters had to work till 6am on Saturday. It has been a tiring and Herculean task. We had to use 55 fire-tenders and 220 fire-fighters were pressed into action. Each vehicle made at least six trips to refill water,’’ he said. One fire-fighter suffered serious burn injuries and is undergoing treatment.

He said inflammable polymers that were stacked in the factory added to the fire’s intensity.

Chengappa said fire-fighters are unable to ascertain the reason for the fire. “The factory-owners are not in a situation to cooperate and we will wait conduct a detailed investigation on Monday.

Safety rules were not followed and the owners have to understand that huge quantities of such material [polymers] cannot be stacked without precautions. We will have to remind builders and industries to adopt fire safety rules once again. We will conduct checks on buildings,’’ said Chengappa.