B'lore godown had no emergency exit, fire extinguishers

Bangalore, Mar 26: A day after six men employed by S R Seating Systems Pvt Ltd were charred to death at the

's godown near the Magadi Main Road, officials said that the building in which the godown was located neither had any emergency exit nor fire extinguishers.

According to the fire department, a no objection certificate has not been granted to the building till date as its first floor is not yet complete. Amith Rathore, proprietor of S R Seating Systems, had taken the ground floor on rent.

Some of the men whom he had contracted to make inflatable seats usually worked at the godown. In fact, seven of the men toiled there throughout Sunday night since the company was supposed to send a large number of seats to Dubai on Monday. After working long hours, the tired men slept in the godown itself.

Reports say one of them went out to get tea early in the morning. While doing so, he rolled down the shutter at the entrance probably to prevent theft at the fully stocked godown. Hence his co-workers were trapped inside when the fire broke out around 5.30 a.m.

Though 11 firefighters rushed to the spot on receiving information, the godown was completely gutted by the time they reached there and they could not save even one of the workers.

A Fire and Rescue Services officer told newspersons that five of the victims "were seen in lying down position, completely charred, while another body was found near the entrance." This worker apparently could not escape as the shutter was locked from outside and all the windows in the godown had grills.

It seems Rathore failed to ensure that his employees were working at a place which adhered to fire safety norms. Otherwise, at least some of the men could have got out before flames engulfed the godown.

OneIndia News