Fire breaks out at Park Street restaurant, no one injured

Kolkata: A major fire broke out in a closed restaurant of a three-storied building located at 1, Camac Street on Tuesday, triggering panic among local people, an official said.

No casualty was reported in the incident, he said.

As many as 15 fire tenders controlled the flames after almost two hours. A disaster management team was also deployed, the official said.

State Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose arrived at the spot and took stock of the situation. He said: “A detailed enquiry will be done along with forensic examination. Whether the portion of the building was legal or illegal is not our subject. KMC will look into the said matter.

We will submit the report once the enquiry is over.” According to sources, around 10:40 am, fire broke out on the roof of the commercial building located at 1/1 Camac Street.

Pedestrians and traffic cops spotted thick smoke and flames billowing from the higher floors of the structure, a part of which was covered with tin sheets that got destroyed. Within moments the flames started spreading to another restaurant located on the first floor. Acting promptly, Additional Officer in Charge (OC) III of South Traffic Guard, Amit Shaw, Sergeant, Year Md. Biswas, Ashish Kumar Singh and a civic volunteer, Partha Karat who were performing duty nearby, barged inside the building and brought out four LPG cylinders and rescued four persons.

After a while, five fire tenders were pressed into action. Later, 10 more fire tenders were sent in phases as the situation turned worse. People from nearby residential buildings and offices came out on the street in fear.

As the thick black smoke covered the area, traffic movement along Park Street got slower owing to less visibility. As Camac Street was closed for vehicular movement, diversion was initiated through Wood Street for a short period of time. Around 1 pm the fire was controlled. However, the cooling process was carried on for a few more hours.