Sharmili Mallick

Bhubaneswar: Fire broke out on the third floor of the office building of State Bank of India (SBI), Bapuji Nagar branch in Bhubaneswar in the early hours of Saturday.

Two units of fire brigade including 12 officials rushed to the spot after getting information and managed to douse the flames after an hour of fire fighting operation.

According to reports, locals noticed smoke emanating from the third floor of the building, which is the branch office of SBI and informed the fire department.

“The fire siren went off at around 5.30 am. After finding the smoke billowing out of the building, I called up the fire brigade and police,” said the security guard of the building, Gopa Krushna Parida.

“Initially the security guards noticed the blaze and informed the Fire officials. We tried to enter the building but could not as fire had entirely engulfed the office. Important documents including cheques and aadhar cards have got damaged in the mishap,” said an eyewitness.

Sources said the exact reason behind the mishap is yet to be ascertained. Many important documents including customer records and files were destroyed in the fire. However, the amount of property damaged will be established after a detailed assessment.

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