A team of Calcutta police officers probing the fire at New Koilaghat building tried to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the death of nine persons inside two lifts on Monday night.

A team of police officers visited the building on Thursday along with officials from the fire department, Eastern Railway and the state forensic science laboratory. The team asked the fire department officials to earmark where the building fire safety devices should have been in place and also asked the fire and railway officials to explain the circumstances under which the incident happened.

The fire on the night of March 8 killed nine persons, including four firefighters, four railway employees and one police officer, in two separate elevators. At least one of the teams was purportedly heading towards the 13th floor to control the fire.

“We have asked the fire department officials to explain why the firemen had taken the elevator instead of the staircase when the building was on fire. The fire (department) officials have explained the sequence of events and also the problems they faced in absence of any floor map,” said a police officer.

Sources in the fire department said in absence of a floor map to guide them to the staircase, there was an apparent “initial confusion to locate the staircase” after which members of the fire fighting team decided to take the lift instead of wasting more time to locate the staircase.

“They (fire fighters) had two options — either to wait for a competent railway authority to come with a floor plan or to risk their lives and move without wasting any more time. It is also apparent that the RPF personnel who were accompanying the fire fighting team did not have the training to act in such a fire exigency,” said a senior official of the fire department.

The 14-storied building has four elevators and two staircases. Seven persons had taken one of the two elevators and were found charred on the 13th floor, while a railway officer and a staff were found dead inside another elevator also on the 13th floor.

Police said, they also sought details of the officials in the railways who were entrusted with the safety and security measures of the building that houses several offices of the Eastern Railway.

“We have sought the recommendations of fire-safety devices made by the fire department that should be in place in a building like this. The recommendations will be matched with the existing facilities,” said an officer.

Sources in the forensic department said they would examine the nature of the control panel in the elevators and if there was provision to stop them in between two floors.

Police officers said they were trying to conduct the probe in the floors other than the 12th and 13th floors first to ensure that work in the lower floors could be resumed as early as possible.