A fortnight before Sashthi, fire ravaged a godown stuffed with Puja stocks of plastic and paper ornamentation at a residential-cum-commercial building in Burrabazar.

The Jackson Lane blaze broke out around 3.30 pm on Friday and it took 25 fire engines three hours to fight it.

Four persons trapped in the building were rescued, but no injuries were reported.

The fire started at Doshi Brothers, a godown-cum-shop on the first floor of 4B, Jackson Lane. The shop was locked when workers of adjoining shops spotted smoke billowing out. Stocks included plastic cups, flowers, garlands and other materials for use during the Pujas.

Initially, two fire engines reached the spot ? one of them allegedly did not have water ? but by then, the fire had spread to the second floor.

The building houses a number of small business establishments and godowns, apart from four families. The residents and workers were all evacuated.

Fire services personnel blamed the lack of fire-fighting facilities in and around the building for the time they took to control the blaze and the damage it caused.

?Plastic and paper are combustible materials and so it took no time for the fire to spread. There was no reservoir or water hydrant in the area. All approach roads are clogged with makeshift shops? Moreover, the building lacked any sort of no-objection certificate from us,? said divisional fire services officer Bibhas Guha.

A forensic team is scheduled to visit and survey the spot on Saturday.