#reimagined About 1,000 tons of steel and 3,000 tons of cement were used in the construction of the LIC building. More importantly, LIC Building was the tallest building in India when it was inaugurated in 1959 for two years before being surpassed by the Usha Kiran Building in Bombay. In Madras, it held the record for 35 years. It had become the best-known landmark of the city (movies saved pages of dialogue explaining that the actor/actress had moved to Madras just by showing a shot of the LIC building). On July 11 1975, a major fire occurred in the building. The fire spread rapidly from the lower floor through the AC shafts with the sea breeze aiding it. The entire firefighting resources of the city, including borrowed units from the Chennai Port Refineries and some factories, were not enough. Twenty four hours of brave firefighting (splinters of glass and molten metal kept falling on the firefighters) was hampered by mediocre equipment and water scarcity. the city was reeling under a water drought and the government decided to let the fire burn out, whatever the damage. Then someone got a brilliant idea and Water lorries provided by the Corporation were utilised for transporting water from the nearby Cooum River. The water from the river was pumped onto the fire engines and the building saved No loss of life was reported, but on many floors, there was nothing left except the scorched walls and deformed steel. One of the earliest computers in Madras, a huge ‘IBM machine’ as it was referred to, escaped because it was in the basement. As an aftermath, new rules were formulated for fire-protection measures for the entire city. Post this incident, the fire service got its high rise snorkels. Much later in one of the wikileaks exposures, it was said that George fernandes a socialist (then in hiding in madras bcause of the emergency police wanting to arrest him) making a claim that it was he and his followers who set it on fire to protest the emergency
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