In absence of a floor plan of the New Koilaghat building that caught fire on Monday, the firefighters might have found it difficult to locate the staircase and taken the elevator, a section of the fire department personnel who were on the spot on the night of fire, said.
Allegations have also surfaced that there were no competent officials on behalf of the railways who could have assisted the fire fighting teams and helped them reach the spot safely.
A fire department official said the fire teams had two options: either to wait for the railway officials to arrive with a floor plan to understand the structure of the building before making any move and let the upper floors burn or to take a risk.
“Unfortunately, the risk did not pay,” the official said.
Human intervention and assistance by railway officials could have been averted had there been a floor plan displayed inside the building, essentially near the staircase or the elevators, but there was none, said another fire department official.
“The RPF personnel, who were also in the lift with the fire fighting team must have been trying to help them. But it is still not clear whether the RPF are trained and designated to handle a fire exigency,” said a divisional officer of the fire department.
Display of floor maps near staircases and elevators is mandatory for highrise buildings just as the presence of fire fighting equipment like water sprinkler, hydrant, a pump, a fire-elevator and an alternative source of power.
Metro had reported on Wednesday that the central government building did not have a fire certificate and had allegedly not acted on the recommendations made by the fire department in 2015.
The Eastern Railway on Thursday sought the list of recommendations from the state fire and emergency services department, sources said. “They have asked us to send the list of recommendations again,” said an official in the fire department.
On Tuesday, a senior fire department official had told Metro that the building authorities had applied for a fire certificate in 2013.
The fire and emergency services department had sent a detailed list of recommendations for the 14-storied building which the authorities were expected to comply and revert to the fire department. The NOC (no objection certificate) could have been issued only after the final inspection.
However, the building authorities allegedly did not respond after that.
Calcutta police have initiated a probe to fix the cause of the fire on the 13th floor and the sequence of events that led to the death of nine persons inside two separate elevators.
A senior officer in the probe team said the most vital part of the investigation was to find out who was in charge of the building-safety and security and why the power supply was not turned off even after the fire was reported.
“Preliminary inquiry suggests that the power supply may have been switched off just when the second elevator in which two people were found dead, had reached the 13th floor,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
“Unlike the first elevator whose doors had opened and exposed the seven men inside to the flames on the 13th floor, the two men who were in the second elevator did not suffer any burn injuries and were found dead inside an enclosed elevator. Possibly they were trapped and died of inhaling carbon monoxide once the power supply was off,” the officer added.
Rotary vaccination
The Rotary Club of Howrah organised a Covid-19 vaccination camp on Wednesday. Fifty people were administered the Covishield vaccine. The drive was supported by the state government and the Howrah Municipal Corporation. The effort was coordinated by Dr Monosij Dhara. The Rotary Club of Howrah is the first Rotary unit in Bengal to organise a Covid vaccination camp.