A fire broke out late on Sunday night inside the multi-storey Lions Range complex behind Kolkata’s Writers’ Buildings, prompting the deployment of at least 10 fire engines as firefighters continued efforts to extinguish the blaze on Monday morning.
Locals alerted the fire brigade after spotting flames and thick black smoke emerging from the upper floors of the building in central Kolkata. Fire brigade personnel brought the blaze under control, officials said, but operations were continuing to fully douse the fire.
The cause of the incident and the circumstances that allowed the flames to spread had not been established, officials said. Fire brigade personnel were investigating the incident, while the building’s proximity to Writers’ Buildings heightened concern in the area. The historic complex was formerly the state secretariat of the Bengal government and continues to house some government departments.
BJP councillor Santosh Pathak described Lions Range as a nearly 100-year-old building and said it lacked firefighting arrangements. He said the fire may have involved computer equipment, although this had not been confirmed by investigators.
“Since yesterday was Sunday, the office was closed, and with all the windows and openings shut, the fire continued to spread internally,” Pathak said, according to ANI. He added that the absence of proper firefighting systems and limited awareness may have contributed to the scale of the incident.
The fire occurred three days after another blaze at Kolkata’s South City Complex. The earlier incident broke out on the 28th floor of Tower 3 on Friday morning and led to the deployment of seven fire engines. Officials said that fire was doused within 40 minutes and that no injuries were reported.
Fire brigade operations at Lions Range were expected to continue until the remaining fire was fully extinguished. Officials were also investigating the origin of the blaze and the building conditions that may have affected its spread.
