The fire accident at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) at Electronics City in Bengaluru, early Tuesday morning, was caused due to improper management of an inflammable solvent in the lab. While there was no loss of life, the preliminary estimation of loss suffered by the startups is between Rs 80 crore and Rs 110 crore and the loss to BBC properties is around Rs 42 crore, informed the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology.
The fire broke out at BBC, a Government of Karnataka undertaking, around 4.30 am on Tuesday, setting off the siren. The security guard and housekeeper rushed out to safety and tried to douse the flames raging on the ground floor, said Fire and Emergency Services officials who reached the spot and doused the fire with four fire tenders.
VIDEO | Karnataka: Fire breaks out at Bioinnovation Centre in Bengaluru. Details awaited.
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A press statement issued by the department said the fire erupted at Galore Tx startup room on the second floor ( ESF07) lab due to improper management of flammable solvent.
"All BBC startups were given instructions not to store and use any large volume of inflammable chemicals in their labs and a separate open storage area was provided for the same. The second floor of the facility, which was recently revamped to house more startups, has been completely gutted. The ground and first floors have sustained extensive damage too due to the interconnected HVAC lines," the statement added.
The fire has severely damaged the common infrastructure of the BBC, including the Bangalore Bio Bank, Cleanroom facility, Flowcytometry, HVAC units, AC units, among others. Many incubated startups with their own equipment too have suffered damage to their equipment, consumables and IP products.
The following startups have suffered serious damages: Fermbox (3 labs), Phyxx 44 (3 labs), Ajitha prodrug (1 lab), Galore Tx (1 lab), Ikesia (1 lab), Immunitas (2 labs) Yokogawa (1 lab).
The other startups - Atrimed pharma, 4basecare, Anabio, Anava bio, Pandorium, Oxonexe Presude Lifesciences, Zhichu have also been damaged.
