A preliminary probe suggested
A preliminary probe suggested that the blaze was sparked by a firecracker — probably a “rocket” — that landed on the plastic shed of the wiring duct electrical control room on the 15th floor, a little after 8pm. The other suspect is the host of diyas that firemen found near the electrical room.
The flames then travelled through an electrical cable duct and hit the electrical control room on the ground floor.
“There was a blast and flames started leaping out. We all rushed down,” said Subhra Sengupta, a resident of City High, which is split into three towers, each with two sets of staircases.
Three fire-tenders managed to douse the flames within an hour, even as the nightmare of Stephen Court, barely seven months ago, cast a shadow cable duct from Park Street to Prince Anwar Shah Road.
“An open flame had probably landed on the shed of the electrical control room on the 15th floor, melted it and set the room on fire. The fire then reached the ground floor through an electrical cable duct and set the electrical room ablaze,” said Bishnu Prasad Dhar, the station officer of Kalighat Fire Brigade.
The highrise was evacuated in a hurry and the power lines switched off.
“I saw sparks coming out of the AC in my room and rushed out of the flat with my two kids. Down on the lawn with the other residents, I saw the cable trunking electrical control room on the ground floor in flames and spotted some flames on the top floors as well,” said Vandana Khandelwal, a resident.
The apartment is home to the likes of Tollywood actress-cum-Trinamul MP Satabdi Roy and Tollywood actor Abhishek Chatterjee.
