Over 20 fire tenders were pressed into service after a massive fire broke out in Kolkata’s Garden Reach and spread to at least 12 godowns on Saturday. This comes a day after a massive fire broke out in huts located on Nimtola Ghat street.
According to firefighters, the fire started around 10 am on Saturday and then spread rapidly. The warehouses are located on Taratala Road in Garden Reach. Firefighters and police personnel tried to douse the flames as traffic was disrupted in the area. The fire was brought under control at around 5 pm, but was not completely extinguished till late Saturday evening. there were twelve warehouses
Destroyed
According to firefighters, it is likely that “the fire spread rapidly due to the accumulation of highly combustible material in the warehouses”.
“A total of 22 fire tenders, including remote-controlled, robotic ones, have been pressed into action. The warehouses contained highly flammable materials. However, we were not given any list of archived material. So we don’t know what kind of material was stored. This caused the fire to spread rapidly and it took us so long to douse it,” said a senior official of the state fire services.
“I have spoken to my officers. The land belongs to Kolkata Port (Trust) which was given on lease. State Fire Minister Sujit Bose visited the spot, the port authorities should have checked whether there was a proper fire fighting system.
Later, disaster management force personnel were called in and parts of the warehouse including the tin shed were dismantled through payloaders and cranes so that firefighters could reach the interiors of the warehouse.
A massive fire broke out in a wooden house on Nimtala Ghat Street in a plyboard godown in north Kolkata on Friday morning. Six fire tenders were first sent to the spot to douse the fire that started around 7.45 am. He said the first floor of the godown in the congested area is full of old structures. Fire officials said that there was no loss of life or property. The exact amount of damage is not yet known.
Being a congested area, many locals came out of their homes out of fear. The fire department fears that the fire may spread rapidly in the congested area. Firefighters climbed a ladder to put out the fire.
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