Bengaluru, Feb. 26 -- A major fire gutted at least 21 shops in the crowded Chikkapete commercial area here on Thursday morning, causing heavy property loss, police and fire officials said.
The blaze is believed to have started in a hardware warehouse near Kumbarpet and quickly spread to adjacent stores in the historic market locality. The fire escalated rapidly due to the presence of plastic pipes and other highly combustible materials stored inside the multi-storey building, producing thick black smoke that engulfed the neighbourhood.
Fire personnel were alerted around 7 am and rushed multiple fire tenders to the spot. Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours amid challenges posed by narrow lanes and dense commercial structures, ...