KOLKATA: A 310-strong force of dogged firefighters battled the Bagri Market blaze for four days to finally emerge victorious on Wednesday afternoon, having reined in the fire in a little over 82 hours. But the second-longest fire — after the Nandaram Market inferno that had blazed for 100 hours in 2008 — raised a few questions about the force’s preparedness and ability to tackle such infernos in congested localities of the city.“The fire has been put out,” fire services deputy director Abhijit Pandey announced at 1.05pm on Wednesday. “We have accessed every pocket in the building and doused the fire. There is no raging blaze in any part of the building. But there may be some residual fires in some pockets, for which we are conducting a coolingdown process. Fire pockets will be doused in a pinpoint manner,” said Pandey. The cooling process will take at least 12 hours more.Policemen later climbed on top of the Mehta Building opposite Bagri Market and aimed at its windows with guns loaded with rubber bullets to smash the glass panes. “The hot smoke that is trapped in the building needs to escape. That will help cool the building faster,” said a cop.Pandey’s announcement brought palpable relief among the emotionally drained shop owners, who had suffered heavy losses in the fire and the physically exhausted firemen, each of who had spent 15 sapping hours every day to fight the fire for the last four days. From Wednesday afternoon, they looked relaxed for the first time, sitting in groups and sipping cold beverages. The senior officials chatted with police officers, discussing the next course of action.For the firemen, there will be some introspection on whether things could have been handled differently. For instance, what would the department do in future if hawkers’ stalls and overhead cables continue to pose an obstruction to hydraulic lifts. “Had we been able to use the lifts, the fire could perhaps have been contained to the first floor. Maybe it could then have been doused on Sunday or Monday itself,” said a firefighter. There will also be questions on the prudence of giving fire clearance to such buildings where firefighting systems are nonfunctional. “Had there been functioning sprinklers, the fire would have been suppressed,” said a fireman.Beyond introspection, there will also be stocktaking and lessons learnt from the fire. If the Nandaram Market fire was fuelled for over four days by an astronomical stock of diesel on the top floor, huge stocks of deodorants in aerosol cans that contain propane sustained the fire for nearly four days at Bagri Market.“Water cannot douse a propane flame. For that, foam needs to be used. But unlike water, which can be sprayed from a distance, foam needs to be sprayed from close. Since the heat prevented our men from gaining access, it could not be used at all. We have to see if there is a mechanism to spray foam remotely,” said a fire officer.Deodorants were not the sole challenge that the firemen faced in the operation. The goods stacked in cardboard boxes along the narrow corridors and staircases made progress difficult. “Had the corridors and stairs been free, we could have climbed the floors or penetrated the building and tackled the fire,” said a fireman. Also, compartmentalisation of the building into small shops allowed pockets of fire to develop, which were a nightmare to locate. Hours after white smoke was spotted at 10.30pm on Tuesday, indicating that the fire was no more raging, fresh flames were spotted from the second floor in the early hours of Wednesday. Extra fire tenders were summoned to douse the fire. The firemen have had to use gas-cutters to saw through the steel shutters of shops to ensure that a fire did not lurk behind.Jag Mohan, the director general of fire services, said: “The officials displayed resilience. There were huge odds but those were beaten,” he said.

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