A massive fire broke out at the multistorey South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office in Kolkata's Alipore area on Wednesday [1].

The blaze struck a key administrative hub near the Alipore Court, necessitating a large-scale emergency response to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent structures in the dense urban district.

Emergency services received reports that the fire started around 9:30 p.m. [2]. Fire-fighting personnel deployed 10 tenders to the scene to bring the flames under control [3].

According to reports from CNBC TV18, the fire originated on the fourth floor due to a short circuit in an air-conditioner [3]. The blaze then spread to the fifth and sixth floors [3]. However, other reports indicated the fire also affected the third floor [2].

"A major fire broke out at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad building in Kolkata's Alipore area on Wednesday," IBNS said [1].

Firefighters worked to secure the perimeter and ventilate the building. Despite the scale of the fire, officials said that no individuals were trapped inside the building when the blaze erupted [3]. The multistorey structure sustained significant damage to the upper levels where the short circuit occurred.

Local authorities have not yet released a full assessment of the property damage, or the loss of government records. The deployment of 10 fire engines [3] highlights the severity of the incident and the challenge of managing fires in high-occupancy government buildings.

“The fire originated on the fourth floor due to a short circuit in an air-conditioner”

The incident underscores the vulnerability of aging government infrastructure in Kolkata to electrical failures. The rapid spread of the fire across multiple floors suggests potential gaps in internal fire-containment systems, which may prompt a review of safety protocols for administrative buildings in the Alipore district.