KOLKATA: Around 150 boarders at Astor hotel in Kolkata's Shakespeare Sarani were evacuated out of the hotel rooms onto the road outside after a minor fire broke out inside the premises on Thursday evening.
Possibly caused by a short circuit on the first floor, none were hurt in the fire as hotel staff and firemen dousing the flames in less than 40 minutes.
The boarders and guests re-entered the hotel after the firemen had cleared it safe.
Officials said the fire started around 4.10pm. Three fire tenders had rushed to the hotel and by 4.50pm, the flames and smoke was extinguished.
"There was a possible short circuit at the electrical wiring that runs above the kitchen from where the fire had started. Initially it had seemed the kitchen was on fire but that was not the case here. All boarders were evacuated on a precautionary note, but all were safe," said Sushmita Bhattacharya, the local councillor who too had rushed to the spot.
Hotel officials said their staff and guards had managed to bring the fire under control even before the firemen had arrived. "Our staff had undergone a fresh firefighting training 10 days back and we were able to contain the fire and ensured it hadn’t spread to a larger area," said a hotel staff.
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