Fire breaks out at restaurant in Shakespeare Sarani, none hurt

Kolkata: A fire that broke out in a restaurant on the second floor of a multi-storied building at Shakespeare Sarani on Sunday morning caused panic among local residents.

They were aghast to see black smoke billowing out of the building. Fortunately, no injury or casualty was reported in the incident as firefighters quickly brought the flames under control.

The incident took place around 7 am and three fire tenders were immediately pressed into action to douse the flames.

When people spotted the smoke billowing out of the restaurant they immediately informed the fire brigade officials.

Fire officials and police have started a detailed probe in this regard. They were also investigating if there was adequate fire fighting mechanism in the restaurant.

The fire officials are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage. Steps might be taken against the restaurant owner if adequate fire fighting mechanism is not found in place.

According to the preliminary investigation, the police and fire department officials suspect a short circuit inside the kitchen caused the

fire.

Some local people and the security personnel of the building were the first to spot thick black smoke coming out of the second floor.

The smoke soon spread on other floors. The security personnel evacuated the floors as a precautionary measure before the fire fighters reached the spot.

The police reached the spot and cordoned-off the entire area. The traffic movement was also restricted in the area for sometimes. The restaurant was closed after the fire incident took place. The fire officials suspect that short circuit might have been triggered from the refrigerator in the kitchen.

Local residents were moved to safety to avoid any untoward incidents. The area was also evacuated by the police and fire officials.

The firefighters were able to bring the flames under control after an hour.

The fire fighters initially found to difficult to breathe as thick black smoke had spread on the entire

floor.

They broke a portion of a glass wall of the building to release the smoke. The restaurant was damaged by the fire.

"People were panic-stricken when they saw thick black smoke billowing out of the restaurant. None was inside the restaurant when it caught the fire. People who were on the other floors rushed downstairs following the incident," a security guard of the building said.