Major fire at timber godown; wood worth more than Rs 4 cr gutted

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A major fire broke out at a plywood godown at the New Timber Layout in Hosaguddahalli in the city, late on Saturday night. According to police sources, the timber godown belongs to Naveen Gupta and he has been running the business since the last seven years.

Timber worth more than Rs 4 cr was gutted in the fire. Fortunately, Naveen had given leave for all employees on Saturday afternoon for the Sankranti festival, before locking the mill and going home. About 30 fire extinguishers rushed to the site. The fire was so intense that it took around 6 hours to bring it under control, sources told News Trail.

Though the exact reason behind the mishap is yet to be ascertained, a short circuit is suspected to be the reason. A HP gas cylinder store is just near the plywood mill where more than 580 LPG cylinders were stored. Luckily, the fire didn’t spread, which would have led to a major disaster. Awakened by the fire mishap, the quick-thinking staff of the gas agency immediately shifted the cylinders to a safer place.

Chief Fire Officer of the East division, Ravi Prasad, said that the plywood godown belongs to JK Associates. “Once the fire is completely extinguished, we will conduct a detailed investigation. It is suspected that some chemicals were stored in the godown”, he said.