HUNT FOR SOURCE SHIFTS FROM SHOP TO OFFICE 

Deshapriya Park: Priya Cinema, the 59-year-old south Calcutta theatre where a fire broke out during the night show on Sunday, has been asked to remain shut till further orders amid suggestions that the blaze originated in the first-floor office belonging to its owner and not the momo counter on the ground floor, as had been suspected.

"From what I saw, it seems the fire started in an office on the first floor (of the five-storey building)," mayor and fire services minister Sovan Chatterjee said on Monday. "We have asked the owner of Priya Cinema not to resume screenings for the time being. The fire services department will carry out a thorough check and see what measures need to be taken. We cannot compromise the safety of people who go there to watch movies."

Priya Cinema's owner Arijit Dutta insisted that the fire was triggered by an electrical short circuit in the Wow! Momo outlet on the ground floor.

Dutta's family, which occupies the top two floors of the building, had taken refuge on the terrace after smoke filled the rooms of their house. They came down only after the flames were doused. Around 60 people in the audience at the night show of Fanney Khan scampered down the stairs moments after the fire was discovered.

Evacuation might have been far more challenging had the theatre been packed at the time of the incident, according to an officer in the firefighting team. "We found out that the smoke detectors inside the theatre did not work when needed," he said.

Jag Mohan, the director-general of the fire services directorate, said Priya Entertainments Pvt Ltd would be served a notice on safety compliance. "We will issue the notice to initiate appropriate corrective measures because safety of the people who go there is our primary concern. The theatre will remain shut till the directorate of fire services is satisfied that all measures have been taken and the installed gadgets are functional."

Like the mayor, the fire services boss said Dutta's office was most likely the seat of the fire. "Our general observation is that the maximum impact of any fire is at the origin of the flames. In this case, the maximum impact was on the first-floor office. But there can be exceptions."

Dutta said a fire alarm did go off on Sunday night and that is what made people inside the theatre run out to safety. He maintained that the momo outlet was the source of the fire. "I smelt something and went downstairs. I saw flames in the momo outlet. I alerted my staff who sprayed CO2. That helped control the fire, but by then the flames had touched the wooden ceiling....The fire spread to my office, which also has a wooden floor and partitions."

Dutta said he had spent Rs 36 lakh on revamping the building's electrical system barely 18 months ago. "You must understand that my family also lives here. So, for my own selfish interest, I will surely have fire-safety measures too."

Dutta said his employees ran upstairs to help evacuate the audience the moment the fire on Sunday night was discovered. Diners at Burnt Garlic, a restaurant on the ground floor of the building, were also escorted out.

Priya Cinema has three exits that fire services officers said were inadequate for emergency evacuation of a houseful audience. "It is an old structure and putting in place textbook fire-safety measures is not as easy as incorporating them into a building that is under construction," the director-general of fire services said.

A team of fire services officers will visit Priya Cinema on Tuesday to check how fire safety can be bolstered within the limitations of the building.

A forensic team visited the site on Monday afternoon to collect samples as part of the investigation.

On Monday, all the eateries on the ground floor facing the pavement were shut. But branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank and United Bank of India functioned as usual. An official of Kotak Mahindra said some employees were there on Sunday night to check if their branch had been affected by the fire. "Luckily, our portion of the building was spared."

Ticket refund

Priya Cinema will refund the tickets booked in advance for shows that stand cancelled. "They don't need to worry. We will refund them," Dutta said.

Those who purchased tickets online will get their refunds through their banks.