Infosys, the IT giant, witnessed a fire on Wednesday midnight apparently caused by a short circuit. About 30 employees were admitted to Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Chinchwad, after they complained of uneasiness in the smoke-filled atmosphere. With safety issue to the fore, the IT representatives said that the IT companies are more aware of disaster management.

Ganesh Natrajan, deputy chairman and managing director of Zensar Technologies Limited said, “The IT companies take all the precautionary measures to keep the situation under control when a fire breaks out. I do not think that the IT industry lacks on that front. In our company, everybody is made aware of how to handle the situation under such circumstances.”

Deepak Shikarpur, head of the IT sub-committee of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) said, “Compared to any other industry, the IT industry is much more aware of disaster management. While big IT companies have the resources to make such arrangements, the small industrial units struggle for that.”

“Every commercial or industrial establishment which is spread over 500 sq ft of space has to follow the fire safety norms and keep the necessary fire-fighting equipment. It includes sprinkler system, smoke detection and other fixed firefighting arrangements like fire extinguisher. Almost all the companies located in the city follow fire safety guidelines,” said Devendra Potphode, fire chief of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).