Family runs up to terrace as smoke engulfs staircase

KOLKATA: A fire broke out at a residential-cum-commercial house on Shambhunath Pandit Street and another blaze ravaged a floor at an office building on Elliot Road on Saturday, causing

widespread panic

in the neighbourhoods. No one was injured.


The fire on Shambhunath Pandit Street broke out early on Saturday. The house is occupied by only one family, all 12 members of which live on the second floor. On realizing that their house had caught fire, all of them ran up to the terrace, braving thick, black smoke that had filled the entire stairway to the lower floors, making it impossible for them to run outside the building for safety.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the fire started from the meter box of 82, Shambhunath Pandit Street located opposite Gol Mandir and a stone's throw from Balwant Singh Eating House. Four fire

engines

took an hour to douse the flames. The electricity connection to the building has been severed. Several telecom operators, who have their towers installed on the top of the building, arranged for generators to keep the service alive.

"We were still asleep when we heard a loud noise, just like an explosion. When we came out of our rooms to check, the entire stairway was filled with black smoke and it was almost impossible to breathe in it. All of us rushed to the terrace to avoid being trapped in the smoke. The fire brigade arrived in a few minutes. We could go down only after the fire was doused," said a help working in the house that belongs to Abhinandan Banerjee. The building also houses a branded sweet shop, a

sari

shop and a private office on the ground floor. A hall, which is let out for meetings, conferences and small functions, are located on the first floor.

"The meter box on the ground floor was gutted, indicating that it was the source of the fire. Four engines doused the flames and the electricity connection to the building has been severed," said a fireman.

On Elliot Road, a blaze broke out in an office building around 3.30pm, ravaging an office on the first floor. Five fire engines took two hours to put out the flames.