Shop full of wooden goods erupts in flames at Chetla

Kolkata: A major fire broke out at a goods shop on Thursday night in Chetla. The fire was doused using 15 fire tenders, after almost six hours. However, no one was injured in the incident.

According to sources, on Thursday at around 8 pm, locals saw smoke coming out of a shop located at 66, Chetla Road. A few local residents saw flames inside the closed shop and informed police.

Later, the fire brigade was informed. But before fire tenders could reach the spot, fire had started spreading to the warehouse adjacent to the shop where wood and plywood items were stored. As both the components are highly flammable, the fire took a devastating shape within minutes.

Seeing the fire spread, occupants of a slum behind the gutted shop and warehouse became panic-stricken. Immediately, the slum was evacuated to avoid any casualty.

Meanwhile, 10 fire tenders were pressed into action. As the intensity of the fire was so high, firefighters faced problem in controlling it. Later, five more fire tenders were brought in to control the fire quickly.

After getting the information, Mayor Firhad Hakim and Fire minister Sujit Bose rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. At around 2 am on Thursday night, the fire was brought under control.

Later, the cooling process continued for a few more hours. It is suspected that the fire might have broken out due to a short-circuit. However, it is also alleged that there was no firefighting system installed inside the shop.

It may be mentioned that a few days ago on Monday night, fire broke out at a warehouse full of plywood in Taltala. The fire was controlled after almost five hours, with help from 19 fire tenders.

In that incident also, it was alleged that the warehouse was not equipped with proper firefighting system.