The authorities of Acropolis have written to the fire brigade that they want to reopen the section of the building that has offices and has not been affected by Friday’s fire, a senior officer of the fire brigade said on Sunday.

One section of the Acropolis building, which is five-storey tall, houses a mall. The other section, with 21 storeys, has as many as 99 offices and a pub on the terrace.

The senior fire brigade officer said the section with the offices has a separate power connection and the mall authorities must get it audited by an electrical inspector before the reopening.

“We have received an application from the Acropolis authorities that they want to reopen the section that houses offices. They must conduct an electrical audit of that section and submit its report. The chief electrical inspector (of the state power department) has to first certify that the section is safe for reopening,” Jag Mohan, the director-general of the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services, told The Telegraph on Sunday.

The fire brigade, too, will conduct checks before agreeing to the reopening.

Officials of the mall administration said the fire broke out in the section that has shops, department stores and a food court. The 21-storey section that has offices is unaffected, they said.

A preliminary inspection by fire brigade officers has suggested that an electrical renovation in the food court ceiling, just under the Crossword store, had caused sparks that led to the fire. The exact cause will be ascertained after the forensic report comes.

“We are yet to receive the forensic report,” Jag Mohan said.

Eyewitness accounts suggest that while the third floor of the mall has been substantially damaged, soot marks are widespread on the second-floor ceiling, too. Even the first-floor ceiling has sagged in places, possibly because the water used to douse the flames flowed into that area.

An employee at an office in the building said they have been asked by the HR department of their company to work from home on Monday.

“Our HR will tell us in the evening what to do the next day, it seems. They, too, are not sure when the section that has offices will reopen,” the employee said.

The mall remained shut on Sunday. Employees of a few stores who went inside said it was completely dark as power supply had been cut off. The gates, too, remained shut.

Nafisha Ali, who works at an ethnic wear store, said she could not enter the second-floor outlet but saw through the glass front that everything was fine.

“It was dark inside as there was no electricity. Moreover, the gates that were open on Saturday were closed today. No sunlight was entering the premises,” she said.

An official at the mall said they have engaged qualified persons to conduct an electrical audit of the section that has offices.

“We have engaged a government-authorised agency to conduct the electrical audit. Their report will be submitted to the directorate of electricity of the state government. The directorate will decide on the approval based on the audit report,” the official said.

“The directorate of electricity’s approval, when it comes, will be sent to the fire brigade for their approval.”