The highest fire death-count was recorded at Sodepur in North 24-parganas district, bordering Kolkata, where a blaze claimed 13 lives in a ready-made garment centre on August 16, 2008.
With the death of 33 people so far, the Stephen Court fire has recorded the highest-ever death toll in any fire incident in Kolkata even as search for the missing is still on.
"Never in the past, any fire has caused so much loss of lives in Kolkata either in any residential premises or any commercial complexes, fire services minister Pratim Chatterjee told PTI in Kolkata.
"In my 14-year stint as minister, this is the worst fire tragedy that claimed so many lives," Chatterjee said.
The highest fire death-count was recorded at Sodepur in North 24-parganas district, bordering Kolkata, where a blaze claimed 13 lives in a ready-made garment centre on August 16, 2008.
Eleven workers were charred to death in a locked room during a fire at a leather goods factory at Topsia in east Kolkata on November 22, 2006.
These apart, no casuality to this magnitude was reported in any other fire-related mishaps in the metropolis or its vicinity so far, he said.
The recent fire incident that still haunts the memory of many is that of Nandaram market in Burrabazar business area. The fire broke out on January 12, 2008 and continued for four days.
The fire in the 33rd Kolkata Book Fair in 1997 was another tragedy Kolkatans want to forget. Books worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed.
A big fire was reported at Firpos market on April 23, 2002 and another at Mackinnon McEngie building on November 7, 1998.
The city lost much of its photographs when its iconic photography shop Bourne and Shepherd was reduced to ashed on February 6, 1991.
Other buildings which caught fire include the 19th floor of the 'Industry House' on Camac street on October 28, 1993, Customs House on September 27, 1994, Mercantile Building on November 29, 1996, a multistoryed building on Lansdowne road on December 6, 1996, three top floors of Everest House on January 19, 1997, top floor of Armenian street highrise on September 1, 1997.
The minister said that the Stephen Court deaths could have been minimised had the roof gate was unlocked.
He said that asphyxiation caused most deaths in the two floors of the building which houses inflammables and chemicals and that there was no fire-fighting devices.
"I have come to know that there were 200 small business centres in the two floors which were mostly ravaged by the fire," the minister said.
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