Kolkata Blaze: Fire Station Head Sacked Over Safety Failures
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Accountability strikes fast in West Bengal: the head of Kolkata’s Pragati Maidan Fire Station, Gautam Das, stands suspended following a catastrophic fire that claimed two lives. Directors pinpointed ‘grave negligence’ in monitoring and upholding fire norms.
The Tuesday afternoon outbreak engulfed a clandestine leather factory on the upper floors of a Topsia apartment block. Alerts hit fire control at 1:45 PM, mobilizing a rapid response. But raging flames and structural hazards turned the site into a nightmare for rescuers.
Five trapped souls were hauled out badly burned; medical teams at Calcutta National Medical College pronounced two dead. The survivors battle severe injuries. In the aftermath, the rogue factory met its end via demolition, ordered by CM Suvendu Adhikari and executed swiftly amid robust policing.
Probe revelations were damning—no approved plans, absent fire escapes or extinguishers. Police nabbed proprietor Jafar Nisar. Das faces a rigorous one-month departmental trial, restricted to fire HQ.
This episode exposes vulnerabilities in Kolkata’s informal industrial landscape. With the state government forming inquiry panels, expectations run high for systemic overhauls to safeguard vulnerable workers.
