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No emergency exits, non-functional fire equipment & combustible materials – what caused Kolkata hotel fire
The fire broke out at the Rituraj Hotel, located in the congested Burrabazar area of Kolkata, on Tuesday evening.
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The fire started on the first floor, where the windows were shut with bricks and concrete, with no ventilation. (Express photo)Exit gate locked, combustible materials piled up, firefighting systems like sprinklers that didn’t work, illegal construction blocking windows, and an expired no-objection certificate from the state fire department – it was this cocktail that possibly allowed the fire to spread in a hotel in Kolkata on Monday night, killing 14 people.
The fire broke out at the Rituraj Hotel, located in the congested Burrabazar area of Kolkata, on Tuesday evening. Here, locals alleged that a dance bar was being illegally constructed.
While 13 people died due to suffocation, one jumped from the building during the fire and succumbed to his injuries. Most of the victims are from outside the state.
The fire started on the first floor, where the windows were shut with bricks and concrete, with no ventilation. The smoke spread to the passageways and inside the hotel rooms on the second and third floors.
“Preliminary report suggests that the firefighting system did not work. The alarm did not go off, nor did the sprinklers. There was a dance floor being built, and combustible materials were piled inside the hotel. It was in 2022 that the hotel got its last NOC from our department. We will take strong steps,” state fire services minister Sujit Bose told The Indian Express.
An FIR has been filed based on a complaint by the state fire department officials.
Ranvir Kumar, Director General of state fire services, said, “We have done an inspection. Plywood and combustible materials were inside. The alarm and firefighting systems did not work. The smoke from the first floor entered the passageways and rooms. The deaths have occurred due to suffocation from the smoke. The last NOC received by the hotel from the fire department was in 2022. Thereafter, they did not even apply.”
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After the massive fire, the by lanes of Madan Mohan Burman wore a deserted look. Police cars and the fire vehicles dotted the road as one approached the now-cordoned off hotel, and officials from both services continued to mill around in the area all day.
A tour around the hotel shows that there are no emergency exits. Additionally, the only pipeline meant for fire emergencies is non-functional. A local resident who was helping with rescue operations described the hotel as “a death trap”.
“There was a back gate to the building, but the shutters were down and locked. Moreover, there were stockpiles with combustible construction materials. Even if guests wanted to use the emergency exit, they could not. It was a death trap. The fire services department and us could only rescue those who climbed on the terrace and the window cornices,” Shaw said.
According to sources, the first floor, where the fire started, had no windows and no ventilation to help clear the smoke. According to sources in the fire department, there were eight fire extinguishers but none of them worked.
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Local resident Rahul Shaw went on to say: “When the hotel caught fire, we were outside. We saw people stranded on the terrace and we tried to rush inside but could not due to the heat”.
Santosh Kumar Srivastav, another local who has a shop nearby and helped with the rescue, added: “Last night we had rushed to help people when the fire started…Many were screaming for help. It was a night we will never forget.”
According to locals, the hotel was previously a garage that was sold after a fire broke out here in 1993. Eventually, the current owner Akash Chawla and his family bought the property and had it converted into a hotel. Although there were only four floors initially, two additional floors were built later on, locals say.
Chawla is currently absconding.
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