Bldg razed by 2010 inferno helps firemen with water, equipment
Times of India | 19 April 2025
12 Kolkata: When firemen responding to the emergency at Queen's Mansion exhausted the water supply from the fire tender on Friday, they turned next door to Stephen Court, the building devastated by an inferno in March 2010, in which 43 died. Not only did they receive an adequate water supply but the Stephen Court fire-fighting system installed over a decade ago was also put to the test.
"Not only did we supply water to the fire tender but we also operated all the pumps to brush up on our fire-fighting infrastructure," said Stephen Court Welfare Association secretary Debasis Guha Niyogi.
The 1.7 lakh sqft mixed-use building, constructed in 1924 by Armenian real estate baron Arathoon Stephen, has 100 units. After the 2010 blaze, fire-fighting equipment was installed, and the elevators were modernised around 2011. "We have additionally invested in fire systems, including hydrants that reach all flats and a new generator for fire-fighting, so that there is complete fire safety compliance," said Niyogi.
For Park Street, the fire in Queen's Mansion on Friday morning was not just a new tragedy — it was the return of an old nightmare. The blaze reignited harrowing memories of a series of blazes that have scarred the food-and-fashion hub centred around Park Street. Friday's blaze, which broke out a little after 12.30 pm, is the latest in a series of fires that have been reported in various buildings and establishments on Park Street.
In the last decade alone, at least half a dozen fires have gutted homes, shops, and lives along this stretch — each one leaving a deep scar. For residents and traders in the area who have witnessed blazes in the past, Friday's fire was a haunting reminder of tragedies they are still trying to forget — the one at Stephen Court, next door in 2010, twin fires at Olypub across the road in 2014 and 2019, or the blaze at 1/1, Camac Street a few metres down the road that gutted three F&B outlets on the ground floor, first floor, and the top floor of the building in June last year.
For Anil Singh, the smell of smoke on Friday was all too familiar. "The siren of the fire engine, the smell of smoke, and the panic among people to save their lives brought back all the horrifying memories," said Singh, a waiter at Olypub. "It seems we have not learnt any lesson from so many past fires." The famous watering hole has undergone an overhaul, putting in water sprinklers, fire alarms, and other measures.
Repeated fire incidents have also raised questions about fire safety and compliance in several of Park Street's iconic, ageing but densely occupied commercial and residential buildings. "Most buildings are old and lack compliance with the modern fire safety guidelines," said a fire department official.