Fire breaks out in southern avenue high rise causing panic among elderly residents
Dwaipayan Ghosh
Kolkata: A fire broke out in a flat on the 8th floor of a 14-storey high-rise in Southern Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, leading to panic among its residents, mostly the elderly, who were forced to stay alone as their children were settled abroad or in other parts of the country.
The fire, the biggest in the 49-year existence of this high-rise identified as Ananda Apartment, forced several residents to vacate the flats in a rush. Several, like Jyoti Mukherjee (85), left immobile due to her advanced age, depended on the security guards to be carried down to safety during the evacuation.
According to residents, the building has 4 flats on each floor. On the 8th floor, Pinaki Sarkar (74) and Mili Sarkar (70) resided together. Their child was settled abroad. Residents reported that it was from this flat that the fire started a little before 12 noon, and a strong smell of burning was detected. It took a few minutes to rush to the Sarkar residence and ensure they safely vacated their flat, even as the fire department was informed around 12.04 pm.
4 fire tenders were deployed to douse the flames. The flames spread soon as the day was cloudy with a strong wind. It was not before 2.10 pm that the fire was finally controlled by the firefighters.
Even as the security and employees of the building came together to try and contain the fire from spreading as the first responders, it was decided to evacuate those on the 8th floor first, as the entire floor was filled with thick smoke.
“I stay alone. My son is settled in Goa at present. I panicked seeing the smoke. Everyone around me was screaming and asking me to come down. Luckily, a security guard carried me down,” said Mukherjee.
“The smell of something burning alerted us. We did not wait to find out where the smoke was coming from and rushed to the ground,” said a resident from the 9th floor.
Residents stated that they were later told that the Sarkars faced heavy losses, with even their false ceiling in the flat coming off and several items completely burnt. “It seems that there was a short circuit in the AC machine in their living room. Within minutes, there was smoke everywhere,” recalled an 8th-floor resident.
The fire and police department, though, stated that the reason cannot be guessed unless the forensic experts gave their view. “It could either be a short circuit or even a fire that began in the kitchen. The source of the fire is being investigated,” said an officer. No injuries were reported in the incident.
On Monday, another fire broke out at the “Urbana” complex off the EM Bypass in Anandapur, spreading panic before it was quickly controlled internally.
INSET:
Earlier on Tuesday morning at Lake Road, a fire broke out after a pay-loader accidentally hit a live wire, which was followed by an explosion. Police suspect the early morning showers caused the live wires to snap, which led to the accident. MSID:: 128754583 413 |