Stephen Court disaster: any lessons learned?
At 2.30pm on the 23 March, 2010, a devastating fire, allegedly caused by an electrical short circuit, ripped through the iconic Stephen Court building in Calcutta, destroying a large part of the 150-year-old office and residential block and killing over 30 people.
A mammoth response to the fire was launched by the fire brigade, with over 300 firefighters and 45 fire trucks fighting an inferno that was being fueled by the vast amounts of wood used in the building of the ancient structure, such as the wooden main staircase, which created a natural chimney effect for the fire and led to the devastating damage inflicted on the fifth floor of the building.
The disaster captured the attention the nation, with the Minister of Fire Services, Pratim Chatterjee appearing on television to provide updates on the harrowing situation.
““It [Stephen Court] is an old building and its fire-resistance capacity is not known. I can’t say if the building can be saved,” he told Calcutta news media as the fire raged, resisting the effort of the fire crews and wreaking a terrible toll of death and destruction.
Even as fire crews and tenders battled the flames, office workers and residents were forced by the smoke and flames to jump to their death in a wild panic from windows. In the initial inferno, six people were killed, but that figure soon rose exponentially as the fire was contained and the recovery of bodies began, many of them burnt beyond recognition.
Due to the efforts of the fire department, the building was saved though, and just a few weeks later, several families have been allowed to move back into their apartments (those which were not affected by the blaze), but stern warnings and guidelines, issued by city authorities in an attempt to prevent such a tragedy occurring again, have gone unheeded, and local government fears that the same thing may happen again.
Stephen Court has become a kind of rallying cry, an event around which momentum can be built to get the cities buildings in-line with safety regulations, as it is, Calcutta news media have suggested that around 718 of the city’s residential and commercial buildings are not compliant with health and safety regulations, especially with regards to fire prevention and containment.
“They haven’t shown any interest in implementing the guidelines, they haven’t even formed a residents’ association to implement the changes,” said Debasish Kar, the director-general (building) II, speaking of the residents who had moved back into the building.
They were allowed back in on the understanding that they would follow the guidelines set forth by various government agencies, leading to the strong backlash from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC).
The guidelines were divided into short and long-term goals.
In the short-term residents were prohibited from using electric generators, from using the air-conditioning, or from using the elevators, and all residents and commercial lease-holders were ordered to have their wiring checked.
“The long term measures include shifting electrical meters from below the staircases and building four staircases and four emergency staircases. A residents’ committee has to be formed to look after the building and the doors to the roof have to be made easily accessible,” a local government official told Calcutta news providers.
No residents’ committee has been formed, however, though one resident of the building said that the occupants had all met in an unofficial capacity twice since the disaster, but no decisions were made and the meetings were largely pointless.
In addition, the various commercial occupants of the building have not taken any of the steps they were ordered to take by local government, including the installation of fire alarms as well as the regular obtaining of fire clearance certificates from the fire department.
The police department and the CMC are now losing patience with the total disregard for safety being displayed, “If the residents don’t fulfill the conditions in three months,” said deputy commissioner of police (south), Supratim Sarkar, “we will decide what action to take at a meeting with the CMC, CESC and the fire department.”
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Calcutta Spotlight
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Stephen Court disaster: any lessons learned?
Over 700 buildings in Calcutta are not compliant with safety regulations with regard to the risk of fire, and the Stephen Court disaster was a tangible example of what can happen when a fire breaks out in an unsafe building. Following that disaster, the local government seems to be taking a harder line on fire safety.
At 2.30pm on the 23 March, 2010, a devastating fire, allegedly caused by an electrical short circuit, ripped through the iconic Stephen Court building in Calcutta, destroying a large part of the 150-year-old office and residential block and killing over 30 people. Read more
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