Gas cylinders posed big challenge to firefighters

Firemen said they had averted a major disaster at Upahara Darshini, where a fire broke out on Thursday evening.

The eatery in Jayanagar had stored five LPG cylinders on the third floor. Four other cylinders had been in use in two kitchens, they said.

"Our immediate focus was to evacuate the building and move the nine gas cylinders to a safe place," said Puttaiah, regional fire officer, Bengaluru South.

The fire broke out on the ground floor, where chaats are heated and served.

The restaurant's self-service counter is on the ground floor, while its first floor offers seating. A big kitchen is located on the second floor.

The third floor is used to store provisions and cut vegetables, said Somashekar, a regular customer and employee of a courier office in the building.

About 35 employees work at the darshini in two shifts, he said.

"The restaurant had taken no fire safety precautions, and didn't even have a fire extinguisher," Puttaiah said.

A restaurant supervisor, identified as Jagadish, was tight-lipped about what had happened.

Dr Lokesh M N, chief health officer, BBMP, said he had sought a report about the incident.

Worried families

Anxious relatives were asking about workers' whereabouts and wondering why their phones had been switched off.

A man working in the vicinity reassured them, saying the workers had been whisked away to the Banashankari fire station where their statements were being recorded. On January 9, five waiters died when a fire broke out at a dingy bar in Kalasipalyam.