Two incidents of fire reported in state, none injured

Kolkata: Two separate incidents of fire took place in the state on Sunday. No casualty or injuries have been reported in the incidents.

A fire broke out inside a plastic godown in Bamanghata area of Bantala leather complex on Sunday afternoon triggering tension among locals. The other fire incident took place at a house at Ekdalia Park. According to the preliminary investigation, the city police suspect that the house might have caught fire after being struck by lightning.

In the first incident, locals spotted smoke coming out from the godown situated on the ground floor of a building at Bantala. Locals spotted smoke billowing out of the godown at around 2 pm and reported the matter to the fire brigade.

Locals took part in the rescue operation before the fire officials reached the spot. They failed to reach the sources of the fire as the entire area soon got covered with thick black smoke. As many as ten fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flames.

According to the preliminary investigation, the fire officials suspect that a huge amount of inflammable materials were stored inside the godown that aggravated the situation.

The fire officials faced difficulties to identify the source of the fire. It is suspected that an electrical short circuit might have caused the fire.

Immediately after the incident, police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the entire area to check any untoward incident. The fire officials brought the situation under control within two hours. Police and the fire officials evacuated the surrounding areas to prevent any mishap.

The preliminary investigation also suggests that there was no adequate fire fighting mechanism inside the godown. The exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are yet to be ascertained. A detailed probe has been initiated in this regard.

In the other incident, a house situated at Ekdalia Park caught fire on Monday morning.

Fire tenders reached the spot and douse the flames.

According to the preliminary investigation, police and fire officials suspect that an air-conditioning machine might have caught fire when lightning struck the house. None was reportedly injured in the incident.

The incident also triggered tension among locals. State Panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee, who is the local MLA, reached the spot after he came to know about the incident.