Fire at Sarat Bose Road hotel early on Monday, more than 50 guests, employees evacuated
Telegraph | 3 June 2025
A fire broke out on the fourth floor of a Sarat Bose Road hotel early on Monday, and more than 50 guests and employees had to be evacuated in a hurry.
The blaze rekindled memories of the deadly fire in a central Calcutta hotel that killed 14 on April 29.
There were no reports of anyone being trapped or injured in Monday’s fire.
Flames were seen leaping out of a room on the fourth floor of the five-storey Mangalam Hotel at 44A Sarat Bose Road around 1am on Monday.
A family had booked most of the hotel for a wedding.
“We had booked almost the entire hotel for a wedding. Around 1am, we spotted thick smoke coming from the room opposite ours. I called the reception, but no one responded. We started knocking on all the doors and managed to get all our guests out of the hotel through the staircase,” said a guest who identified himself as Vipul from Pune.
Police said initially, two fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and three more joined them later. The flames were doused by 3am.
Officials of the state fire and emergency services said the hotel had firefighting equipment, but most did not work.
“The smoke alarm did not work. The water sprinkler also did not work,” said a fire department official.
Sources in the fire department said they were examining the hotel’s documents.
An air-conditioner in a fourth-floor room was identified as the seat of the fire.
“By the time we reached the room, the flames had spread from the AC to the bed and blankets. We asked the hotel staff to show us the register to check who was staying in the room. But at that time, they could not show us anything,” said a senior official of the fire department.
Hotel Mangalam stands opposite a landmark all-night dhaba that draws heavy footfall. The hotel has a cafe on its ground floor, which was also open when the fire was reported.
Several visitors to the cafe rushed in to rescue the guests inside.
“The moment we heard about the fire, we rushed upstairs and brought down as many people as possible. The fire brigade came much later,” said a resident of Ekbalpore who was at the cafe with his friends and helped in the rescue.
The firefighters used a smoke extractor and broke the hotel’s windows to help clear the smoke from the building.
The police said they had not received any negligence complaint from the fire department till Monday evening. The owner of the hotel is out of station, police sources said.
Calls to the hotel were picked up by security guards who refused to comment.
The hotel has been sealed till forensic tests are conducted and the fire department gives a clearance to reopen.
On the night of April 29, the fire at Rituraj Hotel in Burrabazar started on a lower floor, trapping many guests inside. Panic-stricken, some guests were rescued from cornices. At least two employees jumped off a cornice and one of them died. Thirteen others, guests from across the country, died in the fire — 11 of them from inhaling smoke and two from burns.