A room on the ground floor of Trinamul Congress MLA Madan Mitra’s Bhowanipore home caught fire on Tuesday morning. No one was trapped or injured.

Mitra said his son and grandson lived in the room where the fire broke out. “It was sheer luck that my grandson had woken up early.... Usually, he sleeps till late in the morning,” he said.

A preliminary investigation by the police and the fire department suggested that a short circuit in the water purifier in the room caused the fire.Later in the afternoon, a team of forensic officials visited the three-storey house.

Mitra said the family spotted the flames between 10.10am and 10.15am and alerted the fire department.

The room that contained multiple wooden cabinets, bed with mattress and several electrical gadgets was completely gutted by the time the fire could be doused.

“My family is in a state of shock. I shudder to think what could have happened had there been anyone in that room. That room has only one entry-exit point. Had anyone been trapped, there was no way the person could have been rescued. I have requested the fire department to let us know the cause of the fire. We all need to be alert if there was some mistake from our end,” Mitra said.