KOLKATA BLAZE
Smoke rises from a fire at the Chatterjee International Centre, Kolkata, on Tuesday. A fire broke out on the 12th floor of the building and spread to other floors as a dozen fire engines arrived to tackle the blaze. All trapped in the blaze were rescued.
A blaze ahead of the office- hour possibly spared Chatterjee International, one of the tallest buildings in Kolkata, of what could have been a major tragedy on Tuesday morning. At around 8.30 am, raging flames and black smoke leapt out of a window of an office on the 15th floor of the landmark commercial highrise, housing over 300 offices at Jawahar Lal Nehru Road in Chowringhee area. The administration suspects that the fire broke out following an explosion in an air- conditioner due to a short circuit in room number 12, which belonged to a cement company. The flames instantly spread to the adjoining office ( room no 11). Many employees who came early rushed out. Those who failed after being trapped on upper floors ran to the balcony and desperately waved red clothes and threw papers to draw attention.
The raging flames reached 16th and 17th floors in no time forcing Kolkata police to seek help from the Army. Joint commissioner of poli c e ( headquarters) Rajiv Mishra said, “The situation became so volatile that assistance for a helicopter was sought from the Army. They agreed asking us to inform them 15 minutes before its use.” In the meantime, additional number of fire engines were pressed into service and disaster management group personnel entered the building with the firemen. Traffic along Jawahar Lal Nehru Road was suspended. An unmanned aerial vehicle of the city police was also flown in to locate the affected floors.
Fire and emergency services minister Javed Khan rushed to the spot with mayor Sovan Chatterjee and housing minister Arup Biswas. Three hydraulic ladders helped the fire brigade personnel to reach close to the blaze and rescue those who fell ill due to smoke after being trapped inside.