A fire broke out in the locker room of a Bank of Baroda branch located on the ground floor of a building at the busy India Exchange Place on Monday afternoon, police said.
The fire started around 1.15pm when the bank was operational with several people, including staff and visitors, inside the building. As smoke was seen coming out of the locker room, people started to rush out of the building.
The police said that no one was trapped or injured in the fire. Two fire tenders doused the fire within a few minutes.
“A small fire had started inside the locker room. The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained. Luckily all the people who were inside the building at the time could escape without anyone getting injured,” said an officer of Hare Street police station.
“We are checking if the building has adequate fire safety equipment,” the officer said.
According to the police, the building at 4, India Exchange Place is located in a busy commercial area lined up with buildings. There was apprehension of the fire spreading through the area causing greater loss to life and property. The neighbourhood is dotted with several old buildings that lack basic fire safety gadgets.
Found hanging
The body of an 83-year-old man was found hanging from the ceiling of a building in Behala’s Purba Barisha on Monday, police said. The man was declared dead at Vidyasagar State General Hospital, the police said.