The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fire at Indian Bank head office building

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Wednesday, Nov 12, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fire at Indian Bank head office building

Staff Reporter

Several fire tenders and a sky lift deployed to put out the blaze

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Fiery day: Smoke billows from the Indian Bank’s head office on Rajaji Salai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: A fire broke out on Tuesday evening on the fifth floor of the Indian Bank head office on Rajaji Salai here.

At least eight fire tenders and a sky lift were deployed to put out the fire that was reported around 7.45 p.m. in the building. As the fire occurred after office hours most of the employees had left the premises. Thick smoke billowed from the fifth and sixth floors of the building, which houses the Harbour Branch of the bank and offices of the bank’s senior executives. The office of the Chairman and Managing Director of the Bank is located on the sixth floor. Traffic policemen who were on duty in the area alerted the Fire and Rescue Services. The smell of burning plastic and paper hung heavily in the air as records, furniture and electrical fixtures went up in flames.

The blaze was visible from outside and a large crowd gathered on the stretch to watch the personnel of Fire and Rescue Services spray water from atop the towering sky lift. An ambulance from the Emergency Management and Research Institute was also rushed to the spot. The windows of the building were opened to let out the swirling smoke.

The bank’s Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Sundara Rajan who rushed to the spot said the floor affected by the fire contained office records. “The building has round-the-clock security. We will first salvage the situation and then fix accountability,” he said, even as fire fighters continued with their efforts to put out the blaze.

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