Fire breaks out at cotton godown in Howrah

Fire broke out at a cotton godown in Howrah on early Thursday morning, triggering panic in the area. No one was injured in the incident.

Six fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flame. The local residents spotted smoke billowing out of the godown situated in Baluhati area under Domjur at around 6 am on Thursday. The local residents initially tried to extinguish fire but they failed to do so as thick smoke had engulfed the entire area. The locals informed the matter to the fire brigade.

As the area is densely populated, the local people staying at the adjacent buildings stepped out of their houses fearing that the fire could spread in the nearby area. The local people said that the room which had caught fire was mostly used for stocking cotton. They also alleged that some other inflammable materials were also stored inside the room which was completely damaged in the blaze. The local residents alleged that there was no proper firefighting mechanism in the godown. They also said that it could have been devastating if the fire tenders had not reached on time. No casualty or injury had taken place as the incident occurred early in the morning. The fire tenders were swung into action and the situation was brought under control after nearly two hours. According to the preliminary investigation, police and fire brigade personnel suspect that a huge amount of inflammable materials were stored inside the godown that had aggravated the fire. Police and fire brigade started a detailed probe in this incident. Police are investigating if the godown had fire licenses or other permissions to stock various inflammable materials. The exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are yet to be ascertained.