Kolkata, September 11, 2021 : At around 9 on Saturday morning locals noticed thick clouds of smoke blowing out of one of the godowns of Garden Reach FCI warehouse in Kolkata. 20 fire engines and firefighting teams that arrived around 11 am could be seen fighting hard to bring the raging fire under control.
The Divisional Fire Officer of the fire department of North 24 Paragana District stated that initially 5 fire engines arrived, but as the situation was worse than anticipated, 5 more engines were called in for support. Even with the additional fire engines it soon became evident that the situation was fast spiraling out of control, 10 more engines were called in from different areas, getting the tally upto 20 fire engines. Health department officials and disaster management workers were working side by side with them.
The area affected by the fire also includes some parts that are under the jurisdiction of The Calcutta Port Trust. Around 6 vehicles of The Calcutta Port Trust were therefore also deputed on the site to try and tame the raging inferno.
The Divisional Fire Officer present on the site also added that the godown compound didn’t have a water source therefore water had to be sourced from a water body known as Nature Park that falls under the New Santoshpur Road area by setting up a tailored pump. The situation was so grave that a JCB machine had to be used to dig through the burning building to create an entrance for the fire fighting teams.
The shabbily planned godown did not have any emergency evacuation plan. No human casualties have been reported till now although the property loss has been immense.
More than 10 godowns containing mainly electronics and home appliances have been destroyed by the raging fire. People living in the surrounding areas were shocked as they witnessed the accident unfolding in front of their eyes.
The official statement by the state fire services Minister Sri Sujit Bose revealed that the materials stored in the godowns were illegal and no compensation will be paid to the owners and no insurance cover will be provided as well.
The reason for the fire breakout is still unknown and an official investigation by the Kolkata Police Department is underway. The statement by the Minister also stated that legal notices will be handed over to the godown owners for not maintaining the proper emergency safety protocols.
Edited by: Raghujit S. Randhawa