Kolkata: A major fire broke out at around 2.35 am on Sunday at Bagree Market with more than 30 fire tenders trying to douse the flames even after 18 hours, till reports last came in.
As the fire spread, the adjacent building was also affected. Six persons including two firefighters fell sick due to the thick smoke and all of them have been treated at the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital and eventually discharged.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her concern about the incident at the Kolkata airport, before boarding her flight to Germany.
The Chief Minister said: "I have all the information. Early on Sunday, the fire broke out. No report of any casualty or injury has reached us. Steps are being taken. I am in touch with the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata. Nobody is trapped in the building."
Early on Sunday morning, Fire minister Sovan Chatterjee and Director General (DG) of Fire Jag Mohan arrived at the spot that houses around 900 shops. Also, senior officials from the Kolkata Police including CP Rajeev Kumar visited the place.
According to locals, at around 2:35 am a lamp post caught fire due to short circuit. Within seconds, the spark affected a nearby box which contained plastic materials that acted as a catalyst for the blaze to spread. However, the police, firefighters and CESC officials are still not sure about the cause.
The fire spread rapidly to other buildings through the narrow Canning Street. Directly opposite lies the Mehta building that also caught fire as several cans of deodorant that were there in the shops at Bagree Market began to explode.
People from the Mehta building started pouring water using their own fire-fighting system. They could only douse the fire at the ground floor of the Mehta building but failed to control the blaze coming out of Bagree Market as it had already become huge, more so because of shops containing inflammable materials like plastic, soft toys, alcohol and spirit-based ingredients.
Initially, the fire brigade arrived with 10 tenders. Later, more fire tenders were brought in but none succeeded in arresting the fire. Within 8 am, the fire had affected the first floor of Bagree Market. Sensing danger, two hydraulic ladders were brought in. But the firefighters could not use them as the narrow alley was full of overhead wires which took the shape of webs.
Fire brigade personnel were seen cutting through grills and shutters to make their way into the six-storeyed building but congestion in the area made the operation extremely difficult.
Several air-conditioning machines started to explode by afternoon with locals throwing bricks to break the glass windows of Bagree Market to make space for the firefighters to operate. But none of their action bore fruit and the whole building was consumed in a major blaze.
Some of the shops in the area are expected to remain closed on Monday as the work to douse the flames could continue. A Group of Ministers will be holding a meeting at Nabanna on Monday regarding the same.