Jamshedpur: A massive fire broke out on the fourth floor of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) building in Bistupur early Sunday, destroying property worth lakhs of rupees. No casualties were reported.The blaze, reported around 1:30 am, was brought under control after nearly four hours by eight fire tenders. More than 40 air conditioners, around 150 computer sets, 20 laptops, furniture, ceiling fans, documents and other materials were destroyed.Police said security personnel of the adjacent Bank of Baroda premises first noticed flames and smoke from the LIC building. They alerted an LIC security guard, who informed senior LIC officials, police and the fire department. Firefighters and police teams reached the spot and began operations.Two Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) employees, posted on night duty in the company’s rented office on the third floor, escaped safely. “Our office is in the third floor of the building. On receiving the alert, our two officials who were on night shift duty rushed out of the building and immediately called our fire-fighting team,” said GAIL Jamshedpur circle general manager Gauri Shankar Mishra.The LIC office and conference hall on the fourth floor suffered extensive damage. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to other floors and nearby buildings.“It will take some time to ascertain the value of property damaged in the fire, but it will certainly run into several lakhs. Higher officials will comment after police verification,” said a branch official.Bistupur police station in charge Niranjan Kumar said a short circuit was suspected, but the exact cause of the fire would be known after investigation.
