Fire at Vidhana Soudha

An accidental fire broke out on the second floor of Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat, in Bangalore on Tuesday.

The fire that broke out in room no. 203, which houses the office of the Deputy Secretary to the Department of Finance, Government of Karnataka, created panic among the employees of Vidhana Soudha. Even the legislature session was in progress when the fire broke out.

Though the fire services rushed to the spot and managed contain the fire from spreading and extinguish it, officials feared that important documents and files could have been ruined in the fire mishap.

However, Inspector General of Police (Fire and Emergency Services) Chandrashekar, who rushed to the spot, said no harm has been caused to any important Government files due to the fire. “The computer server and wiring have been damaged in the fire”, he said.

But, the fire disrupted the computer network in the Vidhana Soudha. “The server for the computer systems in Vidhana Soudha is located here”, said an employee in the office of the Deputy Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Karnataka.

Employees attributed the outbreak of fire to a malfunctioning air conditioner in the office. However, Government officials said an inquiry would be held to ascertain the reason for the outbreak of fire.