Shillong: A massive fire ripped through a car showroom in Bankra early Monday morning. The site sits near the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on the northern edge of Kolkata. Twenty-two new vehicles burned to the frame. Eight more cars suffered heavy damage. Flames erupted around 5 a.m. Local residents spotted the smoke and called for help.
Eight fire tenders arrived to battle the blaze. Crews fought for hours to contain the heat. The narrow entrance to the building hampered initial efforts. Firefighters focused on dousing the showroom while stopping the fire from jumping to neighboring buildings. No casualties occurred. Cooling operations are currently underway to check for hidden hot spots.
A state fire services department official described the tactical challenges at the scene. "Initially, our task was difficult as we had to concentrate simultaneously on dousing the showroom fire and also prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent constructions," the official said. No representatives from the service center were present during the emergency response.
Investigators are now checking the facility for code compliance. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Officials plan to question showroom management to determine if adequate fire safety measures were in place. This fire follows two major hotel blazes in West Bengal this month that killed 18 people. Those incidents occurred at Hotel Bideshini in Tarapith and Hotel Shikha Inn in central Kolkata.
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