1234 Kolkata: A fire engulfed a warehouse, stacked with plastic and tyres, at Dhapa on Saturday. The flames spread to two other godowns, where plastic is segregated from waste and stored. The thick plumes of smoke rising from the spot, situated around 1.8 km from EM Bypass, could be seen from the Maa flyover.
Twelve fire engines took three hours to douse the flames. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The incident affected the movement of garbage trucks to the Dhapa dumping ground for a while. Electricity supply to the area has been snapped as the fire damaged a CESC transformer.
The fire was spotted around 11am by some members of the 25 families living nearby. Panicked, they rushed out of their homes and tried to douse the flames themselves. Strong winds and flammable materials in the godowns —plastic and oil spilled from containers—fanned the flames, scaring the residents even further as they feared their homes might be burnt as well.
Twelve fire engines reached the spot. The fire department and police are investigating the cause of the fire. Officials said they would examine whether fire safety measures were in place at the warehouses and factories or not.
KMC solid waste management (SWM) department was forced to suspend waste disposal for some time as the trucks carrying municipal waste got stranded outside the dumping ground due to the fire-fighting operation. An official from the civic SWM department expressed concerns over frequent fires at the dumpyard and in the vicinity. The matter has been taken up with the municipal commissioner. A crackdown has been planned on illegal plastic godowns in the belt.
The damaged transformer led to power disruption. "The transformer is internally intact but it has been singed by the fire," a CESC official said. The utility officials said cables would be checked and the damage repaired before the supply is restored.
"Our priority is to isolate the transformer and check the lines after the fire brigade declares it safe," the official said.