Disaster management personnel break open a portion of a wall to let out smoke from the basement. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Lives could have been saved had the firemen not reached AMRI Hospitals late and ill-equipped, said rescuers from the neighbourhood.

According to fire services department log, the first call alerting them about the AMRI blaze came at 4.08am, almost two hours after the flames were spotted in the hospital basement.

Two tenders from Garia fire station reached the hospital 20 minutes later with two ladders that barely reach the first floor, said witnesses, despite the firemen knowing that the building was seven storeys high.

They called for the two skylifts of height 54 and 70 metres, stationed at Behala and Salt Lake, only at 6.15am, said witnesses. The skylifts reached the hospital after 45 more minutes.

Firemen spray jets of water at the basement of AMRI Hospitals Dhakuria on Friday. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

A fire officer, however, said the skylifts were called for around 5.15am.

Residents of the area who were rescuing those trapped in the hospital were furious at the firemen showing up without proper equipment.

“Even we could have climbed up to the second floor along bamboo poles placed against windows. The firemen and their tools were needed to rescue those trapped on the third and fourth floors,” said Tarit Das, a rescuer who lives in a shanty near the hospital.

In the absence of skylifts, firemen, imitating the untrained local rescuers, tied bed sheets around patients and lowered them to ground from the balconies and windows of the upper floors.

Retired firefighters said those on the ground needed at least 100 breathing apparatus sets, but had brought along only 20.

“The fire department does not have so many breathing apparatus sets. Even the ones that are there are seldom used because firemen are uncomfortable about using them,” said a fire officer.

Rescuers also said the firemen seemed unsure about using breathing apparatus.

“We were entering the building and bringing out patients without even handkerchieves over our noses. But the firemen with oxygen masks and cylinders only huddled outside the gate and did not enter the building. Some ventured into the less smoky areas,” said Sikandar Ali, another rescuer from the neighbourhood.

According to witnesses, it took a 35-member team from the disaster management group of Calcutta police to speed up rescue efforts.

The team reached the hospital around 7.30am and its members immediately started breaking the glass panes in the building to release the smoke. They later helped the firefighters and local residents to bring down patients.

“We were on our way to a practice drill. When we learnt about the fire, we rushed to the hospital to help,” said a member of the disaster management group.