A major fire broke out in the Indo-Saracenic structure housing the State Bank of India’s main branch on Rajaji Salai here on Saturday.
Over 75 firemen battled the blaze for over two hours and salvaged cash totalling a few crores from the first floor of the three-storey building. No one was injured.
An employee of the Small Medium Enterprise branch told The Hindu that he and his team were evacuated around 3.30 p.m. after smoke started emanating from the first floor.
“As it was Saturday evening, there were only around 20 employees in the building, and they ran to safety,” he said.
The fire soon engulfed the first floor housing the office of the Chennai main branch, a government accounts section and a cash point.
“While some documents, furniture and electronic equipment were destroyed, we managed to contain the fire and the money was recovered intact,” said S. Vijayasekar, Joint Director of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services.