48 hrs later, arcade fire still rages

KOLKATA: Coal India’s expertise to combat underground fire in mines was solicited on Wednesday after fire-fighters failed to control the fire raging in the airconditioned basement market at Satyanarayan Park for the last 48 hours. A rescue team with equipment had been dispatched by Eastern Coalfields, said officials, but the team arrived well after dusk on Wednesday.
P.N.Nag, general manager (rescue) of ECL, said, “The market must be shut down in parts and barricaded to cut off the oxygen supply. Noxious gases that may have formed must be removed before moving on to the next part. Ideally, we need 12 more local hands to supplement our team. �
The rescue team is bringing with it self-contained breathing apparatus, resuscitators, stretchers, toximeters, lifeline, fire-resistant coats and oxygen cylinders.
A Central Industrial Security Force team is also coming in from Haldia to help fight the fire. On Tuesday evening, experts from the Army, too, visited the site.
However, director, state fire services, Baren Sen, said confidently, “We will ourselves put out the fire. Work is progressing.� Suggestions are pouring in about how to extinguish the fire. But, firemen working round-the-clock know how difficult the task is, given their limited resources.
“A basement fire like this can be controlled only if there are in-built fire-fighting systems. Otherwise, nowhere in the world do you have the technology to fight such a disaster.� The underground market has no fire exits. The state-ofthe-art fire fire-fighting system in the market also failed.
It was discovered that the pipes supposed to supply water to sprinkler ducts in each shop were jammed due to lack of maintenance. On Wednesday, efforts were made to repair them in order to channel water into the market.
The opening of a hydrant near the market was then blown to pump up water. The temperature inside the market is about 400ºC preventing firemen from entering the market.
The fire-fighters channelled water through the AC ducts and exhaust openings. In the morning, however, senior fire service officers entered the market. “As far as we could see in the upper basement, the shops were safe,� said D.P. Biswas, deputy fire officer.
Traders, too, felt relieved to see their shops untouched by the fire. In the afternoon, fire minister Pratim Chatterjee visited the site. He suggested that the market be flooded with water. Traders were miffed at this proposal.
“Though our assets have escaped the fire, now they will be destroyed by water,� complained Manish Jain, echoing the sentiments of fellow businessmen. In the morning, traders put up road blockades several times to protest against the inability of the fire department to extinguish the fire.
Road blocks were put up at the Mahatma Gandhi Road-Kalakar Street crossing from 6 am to 9 am, 9.40 am to 9.55 am and then again from 10.45 am to 12.45 pm. The businessmen also turned their ire against the media for “underplaying� the incident. A television crew was heckled and not allowed to shoot footage.