Close shave for Celica Park offices and restaurants after building at Park Street-Camac Street crossing catches fire

Nine fire tenders battle blaze, Kolkata Traffic Police divert rush-hour traffic, disaster management teams evacuate adjacent buildings

Kolkata, June 11, dmanewsdesk: The fire that broke out at 1 Camac Street on Tuesday morning around 10.30am caused significant disruption. The building, which houses the 1000 BC restaurant and The Drunch All Day Café, is located next to Celica Park at 24 Park Street. Celica Park consists of four buildings, including the Park Centre building, which was closest to the fire. Park Centre is home to popular eateries such as AMPM and Seoul Story at one end, and Barbeque Nation at the other.

AMPM, which celebrated its first anniversary last week, has closed operations for the day. “We were just starting our day at work when the fire broke out around 10.30am in the building next to ours. The gas lines were immediately shut off, and all nearby buildings were evacuated. I heard that seven fire engines were deployed. By 12.30pm, the fire was under control. We don’t know what caused the fire or if anyone was present when the incident happened. AMPM is closed today and we all are heading home,” said Probal Bose, operations manager at AMPM Kolkata.

Similarly, an employee of Barbeque Nation on Park Street said the restaurant was shut down for the day, and employees were sent home. Barbeque Nation is located on the first floor of Park Centre.

Navaron Dias, the manager of Seoul Story in Park Centre, was on his way to work when he received a call about the fire. “My staff informed me there was a fire. At the time, I was on the Maa flyover and saw smoke in the distance. I didn’t connect the dots at first but as I reached Park Street and saw the heavy traffic, I began to understand. I proceeded to walk the rest of the way as the roads were blocked, and found my staff gathered in front of Allen Park. Thankfully, there were no casualties and right now we are all back in our restaurant,” he said.

Gary Saldanha, general manager of The Black Cat located on Level 4 of Park Centre, shared their experience. “After learning about the fire while we were closed, I immediately informed the owners and staff. Currently, we are at the outlet with the electricity and gas lines completely cut off. We will resume operations today once we receive clearance from the fire department,” he stated.

Vikramjit Acharjee, an MBA aspirant at Career Launcher Park Street located on the third floor of Celica Park, had an experience he would not forget in a hurry. “We were in the middle of our classes when we suddenly smelt a strong burning odour from the AC. Suspecting a leak or coil burn, we inspected it but soon realised that wasn’t the case. However, as soon as we opened the door, smoke billowed into the room. We were evacuated by our faculty in the nick of time. As we made our way downstairs, we realised that both the corridors and stairwell were engulfed in thick smoke which made the visibility almost nil. It stayed like that for almost half an hour even after the fire had been extinguished.”

A spokesperson for Celica Park highlighted the swift action taken by their internal facility management team. “The moment the fire broke out, our internal facility management team took immediate action. We didn’t take any chances – evacuating all our offices and shutting off the main power supply. The fire engines also arrived quickly and started operations. Currently, all restaurants in Park Centre are closed. Those in Celica House might reopen later, pending approval from the authorities. We are safe and operating from another office,” the spokesperson said.

Amit Dutt, whose office is at the intersection of Camac Street and Park Street, recounted the incident. “Our office is located at the intersection of Camac Street and Park Street. From our building, we witnessed a lot of smoke, and anticipated a prompt response from the nearby fire station on Mirza Ghalib Street. Thankfully, the fire engines arrived quickly, and the blaze was contained within a few hours. We are fortunate that there were no casualties,” he said.

The fire caused significant traffic disruptions as well. “Camac Street and Park Street were blocked so I had to take a detour,” said Aditya Roy, a daily commuter to his office on Park Street.

WhatsApp videos showing the building blaze were also circulated on Tuesday. Fortunately, the fire was brought under control within a few hours.

Sources said The Drunch All Day Café was under renovation for the past six months or so and workmen were inside. But there was no report of any injury or casualty till late afternoon.

Source: my KOLKATA