Kolkata fire: 'Bldg lacked fire fighting system'

March 09, 2021 19:29

The multistoreyed building housing offices of Eastern and South Eastern Railway, where amassive fire broke out on Monday evening killing at least ninepeople, did not have an adequate fire fighting system, asenior official of the West Bengal government said.

The probable cause of the blaze which damaged theentire 13th and 12th floors and part of the 11th floor of theNew Koilaghat Building was an electrical short circuit on the13th floor.

The fire fighting system on the 13th floor was 'very basic' and it did not come to any help to firefighters aftersome time, the official of the state fire department told PTI on Tuesday.

"There was no adequate fire fighting system in the building. The one which was there did work initially but afterwards, it failed totally. We had to set up a supply line of water from downstairs. Had their system worked, lives could have been saved," he said.

There was none who could provide firefighters with theplan of the building, the official said.

"While fighting a major fire, we need the outlay of a building. A Railway official who lost his life yesterday was helping us by taking us to the spot where the fire broke out," he said.

Charred bodies of seven people were recovered from inside a lift on Monday night while badly burnt bodies of two others were found from another on early Tuesday.

The victimsincluded firefighters, a policeman, an RPF constable and two railway officials.

Asked why they used lifts instead of stairs, the official said that the standard operating procedure (SOP) is not to use elevators in case of a fire.

"They used one of the four lifts in the building as a fire lift to reach the 10th floor of the building to quicklymove near the spot where the fire broke out. But they reachedthe 13th floor by mistake. That floor was burning and theseven inside the lift died," he said.

A fire lift, unlike a normal passenger lift, is designed to operate so long as is practicable when there is a fire in parts of the building beyond the confines of its shaft, as it is used to transport firefighters and their equipment to a floor of their choice.

A forensic department official said, "Preliminary findings suggested that the blaze was caused by an electrical short-circuit on the 13th floor. Samples collected from the burnt floors were being sent for forensic examinations."

The police registered a suo motu case in connection with the incident and the fire department constituted a committee to probe it.

The Eastern Railway has also ordered a high-level inquiry, headed by principal chief safety officer Jaideep Gupta, officials said. -- PTI

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