Vehicles gutted in flames, no one hurt

Kolkata: Several parked cars and buses were reduced to ashes after a massive fire broke out here in the wee hours on Sunday. No one was injured in the incident.

According to sources, at a few metres from the Baguiati traffic guard several vehicles and buses are parked regularly in the night. Around 3 am, on Sunday, some local residents noticed fire gutted vehicles. Immediately fire brigade and Baguiati police station were informed.

Soon two fire tenders were pressed into action. But firefighters faced difficulty while dousing the flames due to high wind.

The Kolkata-bound flank on the VIP Road had to be stopped for vehicular movement to avoid any further damage. Later, three more fire tenders were sent. Meanwhile, Fire Minister Sujit Bose rushed to the spot and supervised the work. He also interacted with local residents to get the details of the incident.

It is suspected that one of the vehicles caught fire which spread on to other vehicles. Question arises how did the vehicle caught fire.

Since the vehicle's engines were not running, chances of short-circuit is almost nil.

Later, it was decided that forensic examination of the gutted vehicles will be conducted to determine the cause of fire.

Bose said the vehicles which were parked were illegal. It could have led to fatalities if the incident happened during peak hours. He also discussed the matter with the fire department officials. After almost 30 minutes, the fire was controlled. Cooling process went on for 30 more minutes to douse the pocket fire completely. Sources informed that fire department may lodge a complaint if any ambiguity is found in the forensic report.