Fire Breaks Out at CESC Office in West Bengal’s Panihati, 9 Fire Tenders Deployed

September 13, 2026

Kolkata: A massive fire broke out at the distribution office of private power-generation and distribution company CESC Limited in Panihati, North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, on Sunday.

No casualties had been reported at the time of filing the report. However, the fire was intense and spread to a couple of nearby shanties, prompting a large-scale firefighting operation.

Nine Fire Tenders Engaged in Firefighting

The intensity of the blaze was so high that initial attempts by local residents to control it were unsuccessful. The state fire services department was immediately informed, following which four fire tenders reached the spot and began firefighting operations.

Five more fire tenders subsequently arrived and joined the operation, taking the total number of fire tenders deployed at the site to nine.

A fire services official at the spot said the intensity of the blaze was considerable and that more fire tenders had been requisitioned.

Firefighters were focusing on restricting the flames to the CESC building and preventing them from spreading to nearby shanties and other constructions.

Residential Area Under Watch as Fire Disrupts Traffic

A residential area is located behind the CESC building, and firefighters were keeping a close watch to ensure the blaze did not spread there. Residents living in the nearby slum area were also alerted by the fire services department.

Firefighters were using water as well as foam to bring the blaze under control.

The incident also disrupted traffic on the busy Barrackpore Trunk Road (BT Road) on Sunday afternoon. Police personnel were monitoring the situation in the area.

Transformer Explosion Suspected

The exact cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

However, the fire department’s initial assessment was that a transformer inside the CESC building may have exploded, triggering the blaze. The cause remained under investigation at the time of filing the report.

Fire officials expressed hope that the fire would be brought under control at the earliest.