2006 Kolkata leather factory fire

The 2006 Kolkata leather factory fire was a deadly industrial fire that occurred in West Bengal, India, on November 22, 2006. A lightning rod for criticism of poor safety standards among the country's "sweat shops", the fire broke out in a leather bag factory located in the Tannix International, Topsia, in the South 24 Paragana district of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

The industrial fire claimed the lives of at least 10 people, who were unable to escape because the illegal factory's doors were locked shut. Authorities, in response to local residents' angry criticism, admitted that the emergency response to the accident was substandard. Two separate investigations were launched. One inquiry focused on the fire itself, while the other sought to ascertain criminal responsibility for the disaster as well as the operation of the illegal factory.^[1][2] The results of both are either pending or have yet to be released to the general public.^[1]

Background

Investigators confirmed that the site of the fire had been used as an illegal leather bag factory.^[2]The factory was located on the third floor of a four-story building^[3][4]that also featured residential units.^[5] Investigators determined that the first and second floors of the structure housed additional illegal factories.^[6] The factory destroyed in the fire was found to be owned and operated by Tenex Exports.^[6] Apparently, all of the people who were killed or injured in the fire slept in the factory at night, a situation that is not considered unusual in India.^[4] As noted earlier, the building was located in the Tannix International, Topsia, in the South 24 Paragana district of Kolkata.^[3][7] The building had just one emergency exit, and 40 workers were housed in the structure at the time of the fire.^[7] The owner locked the factory at night to prevent workers from running away with leather goods.^[8]

Event and emergency response

The fire broke out in the factory at around 2:30 IST^[3], as workers slept nearby. Once they became aware of the blaze, the desperate workers found they were unable to break through the factory's locked doors. Five fire tenders were sent to the scene of the fire.^[3] By the time they arrived, local residents had broken down two locked gates and rescued the surviving workers.^[6] Rescue efforts were delayed, however, when an individual carrying keys to open the door nervously dropped them while attempting to open the gate^[6] At least 10 people were dead by the time rescuers reached the factory's interior.^[9], with a further eighteen injured. The injured survivors, many suffering from burns over 70 percent of their bodies, were taken to the National Medical College and Hospital, where victims had to be left on the floor due to a shortage of beds.^[10] The hospital did not have a burns unit, so the only treatments available at the hospital were ointments and saline drips. The patients were eventually moved to other hospitals.^[7] Local MLA Javed Khan later said that the death toll is actually at least twelve, but there has been no official confirmation of this.^[3][11] The Rapid Action Force was also deployed to maintain calm.^[3][10]

Criticisms of the emergency response

Template:Wikinews People living in the vicinity of the illegal factory said that the number of deaths might have been reduced had the fire service responded promptly. They claimed that the fire brigade failed to send personnel or equipment to the scene until more than an hour after the brigade first received word of the fire. Residents also claimed that it was only after the police arrived and requested fire service backup that any help was sent.^[3] In addition, some on the scene reported an inadequate number of ambulances.^[11] The city's mayor admitted to this lapse the following morning.^[11] Complaints were not limited to the fire brigade's late response, however. Local people also complained that the victims should never have been taken to the Calcutta National Medical College. Rather, they should have been transported directly to hospitals with burns units, residents said.^[12]

Investigations

Accident investigation

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire as well as the reason the building had been locked from the outside.^[1] To this end, the building was inspected by the KMC, upon which it was scheduled to be demolished on Thursday, November 23. Yet, the structure is standing to this date.^[7] Although no actual cause of the fire was established, it has been noted that large quantities of inflammable materials, such as adhesives, were stored inside the building.^[3] It was also revealed that the factory experienced a similar fire two years previously, but there were no fatalities on that occasion.^[8]

Criminal investigation

As noted earlier, a separate criminal investigation has focused on the illegal factory itself.^[2] Almost all factories and homes in the area were illegal and unauthorised,^[7] and did not follow building codes and sanctions.^[8] Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said action would be taken against the owners of the factory and house, and Superintendent of Police of South 24 Parganas S.N. Gupta said that the owners of the building would be arrested.^[10] Investigation has shown that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) issued notices to the building on three separate occasions, in 1988, 1989, and 1992. Yet, it took no further action. It has been shown, however, that the KMC approved trade licences for two businesses to operate from the building.^[7] The owner of the building, Khurshid Alam, has had a police complaint filed against him by the fire department for illegal construction charges. Mohammed Sagir Ahmed and Mohammed Asif, the owners of Tenex Exports, also face related charges.^[6] Both investigations are ongoing.

Notes

See also

• Rhythm Night Club Fire--a 1940 fire in Natchez, Mississippi killing 209
• Beverly Hills Supper Club fire--a 1977 fire in Kentucky that claimed 165 lives
• Collinwood School Fire--a 1908 fire that killed 175 in Cleveland, Ohio
• The Station nightclub fire--a 2003 fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island that killed 100
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire--a 1911 fire in New York, New York that killed 146
• Stardust disaster--a 1981 fire in Dublin, Ireland that killed 46
• 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire--a fire in Hamlet, North Carolina killing 25
• Summerland disaster--a 1973 fire on the Isle of Man that killed 51
• Happy Land Fire--a 1990 fire in New York, New York that killed 87
• Cocoanut Grove fire--a 1941 fire in Boston killing 491
• Our Lady of the Angels School Fire--a 1958 fire in Chicago, Illinois that killed 95
• Iroquois Theater Fire--a 1903 fire in Chicago, Illinois that killed 602
• 2006 Moscow hospital fire--a fire in a Moscow hospital killing 46

All of the tragedies above involved people being trapped behind locked doors or windows, or doors that could not be pushed open.

References

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