Bhubaneswar: A major fire broke out at a bar-cum-restaurant in Bhubaneswar’s Satya Vihar area on Friday morning, triggering panic among locals.
However, there were no casualties or injuries as the establishment had not opened for the day.
According to sources, there was a risk of the fire spreading to other buildings though and fire fighters had a tough time bringing the blaze under control. The flames were being fed by a substantial quantity of alcohol present inside the premises.
Chief Fire Officer Ramesh Majhi told reporters that the control room received the alert at 8.50 am. Two fire tenders were immediately deployed to the spot, and the firefighters reached the location by 9.15 am. Firemen battled the blaze for nearly an hour before successfully bringing it under control. The officer confirmed that the fire was completely contained and prevented from spreading to adjacent establishments.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but a short circuit could be a possibility, authorities said. Forensics experts will collect samples after the site cools down, they said. It will also be checked whether the establishment had proper documentation and possessed adequate fire safety measures.
The incident comes on the heels of a fire at a nightclub in Goa that killed 25 people.
It is worth mentioning here that the Odisha fire and emergency services (OFES) had issued a directive, for a statewide fire safety audit of all large and independent restaurants with a seating capacity exceeding 100 as a preventive step to avoid incidents similar to the Goa tragedy. It had planned to carry out checks in Bhubaneswar from December 13 onwards to find out whether they have a valid fire safety NOC or not.
The state capital has about 58 hotels and 82 restaurants, which have bars for customers. Over 80 standalone bars and restaurants with bars are operating without fire safety clearance since Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017 do not make it mandatory for these premises to seek a fire safety certificate, the TNIE had reported.
Instead, these bars operate with a trade licence from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), it added.
