Kolkata: A sudden fire incident in the early hours of Tuesday caused widespread panic at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, Kolkata.
It is learnt that the fire broke out on the second floor of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) building at Kolkata Airport. However, due to the swift response of the firefighters and airport authorities, the fire was brought under control very quickly. At the same time, flight operations remained unaffected. The situation at present is completely normal.
According to airport staff, the security guards and other staff on duty suddenly saw flames coming out of the second floor of the ATC building at around 4 a.m.
Before they knew it, the fire started spreading to a specific part of the building in a matter of moments. The area was covered in black smoke.
As soon as the news was received, the fire station’s engines adjacent to the airport rushed to the scene. The firefighters started extinguishing the fire quickly. Since the ATC building is a sensitive and important part of the airport, no risks were taken. Several more fire engines arrived at the spot to bring the situation under control. Soon, the fire was completely brought under control within a short time due to the efforts of the firefighters. Later, cooling down work was also done so that there was no new danger from the pocket fire.
An airport official said, “The fire was mostly confined to an open area. There has been no major disruption of work or damage to ATC. There was no need to evacuate the entire building as the firefighters were quick to identify the source and contain the fire.”
An investigation has already started into the exact reason why such a fire broke out in such a secure and important high-rise building. Firefighters suspect that some decoration work was recently done on the second floor of the ATC building on Independence Day and small decorative lights were installed there.
It is suspected that the fire broke out due to the decorative lights being on for a long time or due to a short circuit in the weak wire of the decorations. However, a probe is underway to find out whether there is any other electrical or mechanical malfunction or negligence in maintenance behind this fire.
