Burrabazar fire brought under control - Army
The army and firebrigade bring under control the blaze in a multi-storeyed building in the country's biggest wholesale market in Burrabazar in Kolkata.
After battling for more than three days, the army and firebrigade on Monday night brought under control the blaze in a multi-storeyed building in the country's biggest wholesale market in Burrabazar in Kolkata and the flames could be snuffed out soon.
"We have taken control of the situation now and hopefully we will be able to put out the fire by tonight," Lt Col Sanjeev Kumar Vohra of the Army (Ordinance) Depot, Panagarh, told PTI.
Fire brigade sources said the fire in eight out of the 13 floors of Nandaram Market had been put out and the flames in the remaining four floors had been restricted from spreading.
"To control the fire, which broke out on Friday night, we are spraying foam. We had earlier thought of using carbon dioxide but since we needed a huge amount, we settled for foam," said Vohra who has been on the scene for the last two days with a 50-member army team, including 12 fire-fighting experts assisting the 300 men of the fire brigade.
He said the fire-fighters had to break the shutters of 970 shops in the 13-storeyed market to take control of the fire in individual shops.
The army fire-figters attempted to climb to the ninth floor but were beaten back by the heat, he said.
One fire brigade officer lost one of his eyes while fighting the blaze and one of his colleagues sustained burn injuries.
The delay in extinguisning the blaze sparked anger among traders who attacked mediapersons and damaged Outdoor Broadcasting vans and cameras claiming that a proper picture of the losses suffered was not bein given.
Cracks appeared in the front portion of the building which has slightly tilted to the left.