A fire broke out on the 15th floor of the 21-storey South City Galaxy in Bhowanipore on Monday, leaving residents in panic.

Police said no one was injured and the fire brigade said the extent of damage would be assessed on Tuesday.

Ten firefighters took more than four hours to control the fire after initial efforts to reach the top floors on a hydraulic ladder failed as the flames leapt to a flat on the floor above.

There wasn’t enough space for the ladder to be stationed, making the firefighting “even more challenging” as strong winds kept feeding the flames, a fire officer said. An LPG cylinder in one of the flats on the 15th floor burst and within moments the fire spread to the floor above, the fire officer said.

A team from the city police’s disaster management group joined in the firefighting as cops cordoned off the area. Fire services minister Sujit Bose reached the spot to oversee the firefighting as cops evacuated residents from the highrise on Justice Chandra Madhab Road close to Forum mall.

“Please leave us alone. We are not in a position to talk right now,” one of the residents said as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.

Passersby watch the fire from the street below.

The fire brigade will inspect the building’s firefighting facilities after forensic experts examine two flats on Tuesday, a fire officer said. The fire was possibly triggered by a short circuit, the officer said.

“Our immediate concern was to control the fire. After forensic experts visit the spot, fire officers will run a check on the building,” minister Bose said.

The fire was spotted by some residents who alerted the fire brigade and the senior property manager of the complex before operating the building’s firefighting system.

“The residents tried to tackle the fire with the building’s safety gear. But the water pressure was inadequate to reach the 15th floor,” the fire officer said. “So, pipes were connected to our water tanks.”

Around noon when many felt the fire had been controlled, a cylinder burst and flames started moving up and windowpanes crashed to the ground below, the fire officer said.

Firefighters managed to reach the seat of the fire on both floors and controlled the flames in the next hour and a half.