‘The door was locked from outside’: Blaze at 2 warehouses leaves 25 families looking for answers

The fire broke out in the early hours of January 26 at one of the two warehouses and quickly spread, killing at least 25. Three arrests have been made so far, including two employees of Wow Momo. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those killed, while West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose, who visited the site, blamed the tragedy on “systemic neglect”.

Questions, meanwhile, linger over the cause of the fire, and the warehouses’ fire safety mechanisms.

“I do not want to blame anybody, but the fact remains that there has been failure on the part of the authorities concerned, else this kind of repeated incident would not have taken place. Exemplary action is required,” Bose said.

Officials say the fire began around 3 am, though its exact origin is unclear so far. One of the warehouses belongs to Pushpanjali Decorators, which had leased it to Wow Momo. According to fire department sources, inflammable materials stored at the site allegedly caused the blaze to spread rapidly. Authorities have claimed the warehouses lacked basic fire safety measures.

“There are many factories and godowns in the area. While some have licences, others don’t,” West Bengal Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose told the media. “We have filed an FIR against the decorator firm. We will have to see whether the fire safety audit was done.”

Local residents said the area used to be wetlands, with warehouses coming up only over the past decade. Wow Momo, in a statement, indicated three of its employees were among the dead, suggesting the rest were from the other warehouse. Investigators, however, said the details of the dead are still being verified.

Survivors speak

Among those arrested is Gangadhar Das, owner of Pushpanjali Decorators, who was taken into custody on Tuesday and remanded in police custody until February 4. Two Wow Momo employees — deputy manager Raja Chakraborty and warehouse manager Manoranjan Sheet — were arrested on Thursday evening and remanded in custody. Investigators are probing where they were at the time of the fire, sources said.

Families of the missing continue to shuttle between the local police station and the site. Hare Krishna Maiti said his brother, Shri Krishna, and nephew, Bapan, had been working at the godown for nearly a decade. Most of the victims are from Purba Medinipur district, from where Gangadhar Das hailed.

“No one’s saying anything about when we will get the body,” he said. “They just say, ‘Go to the police station and file a missing person’s report’. We did that and are waiting now. I know my brother and nephew are no more. I know our family will not get anything to perform their final rites.”

Outside the gutted warehouse, Barnali Doloi can only replay her last conversation with her husband, Tapan, a flower decorator and the family’s sole breadwinner. He leaves behind his wife, their five-year-old son, and his elderly parents.

“He said he was tired and going to sleep. He was to come home the next day,” she said.

Basudeb Haldar’s final call to his daughter came around 3 am, when the fire was already raging. “He said they were trapped inside, the door was locked from the outside, and that there was no more time,” his relative Prasanta Haldar claimed.

Survivors recounted a night of panic and chaos. Susanta Jana said workers were preparing to sleep after a long shift when the fire broke out.

“Suddenly, I heard people scream ‘fire, fire’. We were close to the front gate, and I could feel the heat of the flames coming closer. The whole place was dark. We ran to the gate, managed to pry it open and ran for help,” he said.

Bimal Bhowmick recalled the smoke closing in. “We were calling out to each other. I fell down while running, but managed to get up. But the smoke was getting heavy. The next thing I remember was waking up in an ambulance,” he said.

Political flashpoint

In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi announced the ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. The Trinamool Congress has announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh.

With Assembly elections approaching, the incident turned into a political flashpoint. The BJP’s Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, led a protest march from Dhalai Bridge to Narendrapur Police Station, demanding action over the lapses, while the CPI(M) questioned why Wow Momo founders had not been arrested.

“We are seeing what is happening in the entire state. In the name of change, wetlands are being filled,” CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty told The Indian Express.

A delegation from the Socialist Unity Centre of India was stopped by the police from visiting the site.

In a statement issued Thursday, Wow Momo said the fire began “from the neighbouring premises” and “reportedly started due to unauthorised cooking at their warehouse”.

“This fire engulfed not only our men, our spirit too,” it said. “Our hearts are immersed with grief and pain for having lost 2 of our valued employees and a NIS Contracted security guard in this entire catastrophe.”

The company announced compensation for its deceased employees, including a lump sum of Rs 10 lakh, continued monthly salary for the bereaved families, and support for children’s education.

“We are doing everything possible to support and cooperate with the respective administrative and government authorities in their various investigations,” the statement read.