Over 150 firefighters battled the raging blaze at the cracker godown at Attibele for over 15 hours and recovered all the bodies that lay severely charred and some buried under the debris on Saturday.
The Fire and Emergency Services control room received a call about the fire at 3.30 p.m., without any information about the kind of shop. It was only after a fire tender rushed to the spot, delayed by heavy Saturday traffic on Hosur Road, that the personnel realised that it was a firecracker godown of over 6,000 sq. ft with over one tonne of firecrackers stored. Soon, 10 fire tenders and a rescue van rushed to the spot and joined firefighting and rescue operations.
“It was a very challenging operation as thick poisonous smoke of sulphur and phosphorus was bellowing out and the godown was unscientifically built with no good access. A liquor store stands right next to it, posing even more risk. But human efforts aided with technology helped us put out the fire,” said Kamal Pant, DGP, Fire and Emergency Services.
The lorry from which employees of the shop were unloading crackers when the fire started was up in flames and blocked access to the godown. Firemen had to put out the fire in the lorry to get to the godown — probably precious time was lost before help could reach those who were trapped inside. A firefighter said they had information that there were 30 people working inside when the fire broke out and six, including a few women, escaped from the backdoor and a few were trapped inside.
But even after the fire outside was put out in two hours, reaching the badly constructed godown was a Herculean task. Finally, Fire Services personnel brought an excavator and broke open the roof and unscientifically constructed partitions within the godown to gain access, Shivashankar, Director (Technical), Fire and Emergency Services, said.
A team led by Yunus Kousar, Deputy Director, Fire and Emergency Services, recovered 12 bodies by 10 p.m. Two other bodies buried under the debris were recovered in the small hours of Saturday night.
“It was a horrible scene inside the building as those who were charred to death were sitting in the middle of the godown to pack cracker boxes. Due to the fire and thick smoke, the other material fell on them and they were trapped under the debris, unable to get out,” a firefighter said.
While an electrical short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire, only a detailed investigation can ascertain the exact cause, a Fire Services personnel said.
