A fire gutted at least 100 shanties behind Falguni Abasan, near Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, in Salt Lake on Sunday evening.
The flames were spotted around 6.45pm. Residents tried to douse the flames themselves by pouring water from buckets before alerting the fire brigade.
According to an official of the Bidhannagar commissionerate, at least 100 shanties had been gutted. At least 10 fire tenders were sent to the area.
The shanties were made of bamboo poles, plastic sheets and tin. The area is extremely congested with narrow lanes criss-crossing the locality.
A senior fire official said they had heard multiple explosions as LPG cylinders kept bursting. “We had to be extremely cautious as the entire area had combustible materials,” the officer said.
“Apart from combustible materials like bamboo and plastic sheets that had been used to construct the shanties, most homes had LPG cylinders and containers filled with kerosene,” the official said.
Fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose, who reached the area, said fire-fighters had recovered at least a dozen LPG cylinders from the shanties.
“Our teams have recovered at least a dozen LPG cylinders and had to be cautious as LPG cylinders and kerosene stoves kept exploding one after another. Multiple teams were pressed into action and the fire came under control in couple of hours,” said minister Bose.