Electrical fires at Book Fair

Two small electrical fires in Book Fair stalls on Monday afternoon raised big questions about fire safety at Milan Mela.
The flames, put out by employees of the stalls set up by Calcutta University and Reflect Publications within minutes, caused minimal damage but prompted fire services officials to reiterate their demand that only heat-proof electrical cables be used at the fair.
The department had issued a provisional no-objection certificate to the fair on Saturday, four days after it started, following industries minister Nirupam Sen’s visit to Milan Mela.
The first fire broke out in the Reflect stall (469) around 1pm from a short-circuit near the ceiling. Employees of the stall doused the flames by the time firefighters turned up. Electricity supply on the phase was stopped for some time.
Around 6pm, a circuit breaker blew up in the Calcutta University stall (343), sparking a fire. Staff members brought the situation under control.
“Both were electrical fires. In the second stall, a section of an electrical wire was burnt. That’s why we had demanded heat-proof cables, which cut down the chances of a blaze,” said a senior divisional fire official.
“We had also demanded that the makeshift roads at Milan Mela be strengthened so that they can bear the weight of the fire tenders. Besides, the walls of the stalls should have been doused with fire-retardant chemicals,” said another officer of the fire services department.
The authorities of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the organisers of the fair, claimed that they had ensured that the firemen did not face any hurdle while fighting a blaze.
“Even today, everything was in place. This being the first year of the Book Fair at Milan Mela, we are assessing the loopholes that need to plugged,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, one of the executive members of the guild.