Fire breaks out at Writers' Buildings, none injured

KOLKATA: Tension spread after a minor fire broke out at a room on the ground floor near gate number 5 inside the Writers' Buildings on Tuesday evening. Nobody was injured in the blaze.

About six fire tenders were pressed into action and the blaze was doused after about an hour. State Fire minister Sujit Bose, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi, Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vineet Kumar Goyal, and other senior officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

According to sources, around 6 pm on Tuesday, a fire broke out in the room that houses the Home department. Immediately the fire brigade was informed. Six fire tenders, including the one stationed in front of the Writers' Buildings, were pressed into action. The fire was controlled after almost 45 minutes and was finally doused after an hour. It is feared that several important files might have got burnt.

It is suspected that the fire broke out from a short circuit in a laptop which was being charged. An inquiry has been ordered to find out the exact cause of the fire.

Sections of a few departments such as Home and Hills and Law departments are housed in the century-old iconic building, which originally served as the principal administrative office for junior clerks of the British East India Company.