Wood depot burnt to ashes in Nimtala, no casualties, loss not yet known

Kolkata: A fire early on Saturday in a cluster of timber depots on Maharshi Debendra Road in Nimtala gutted at least five units stocking timber logs along with the homes of 17 families who used to live above these depots.

The fire broke out around 1.30am and the fire brigade was still working to douse pockets of fire in the evening. Twenty fire tenders had been sent by then, said an official at the fire brigade’s control room.

There were no reports of injuries till late on Saturday. The extent of damage has “yet to be ascertained”, Kolkata Police said in a release.

A timber merchant said the loss would run into several crores of rupees.

Shashi Panja, the MLA from Shyampukur, said while the wood planks and ply were stocked on the ground floor, the families used to live on the first floor. “We have identified and shifted 43 families who have lost their homes in the fire…,” Panja, who is a state cabinet minister, said on Saturday evening.

The owner of a warehouse in the area said the ferocity of the fire worried them initially that the flames would spread and engulf many timber stores. That was prevented, he said.

Prasenjit Roy, another timber merchant, said he came from Sovabazar after he was informed by a business partner about the fire. “Some people said the fire started after cylinders burst. Some others said flickers of flames from lamps lit up on Friday night set off the fire,” he said.

The office of the Nimtala Timber Merchants’ Association was also gutted in the fire, said Aritra Biswas, a fifth-generation timber merchant in Nimtala. “This timber hub would be at least 100 years old…,” said Biswas.

An official at the fire brigade’s control room said: “We are yet to fully see if the depots had firefighting measures.”

Asked about the cause of the fire, Sanjoy Mukherjee, director-general of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services said: “A forensic examination will be done to determine
the cause.”