Fire at showroom in Kolkata, 22 cars gutted; no casualties reported

August 24, 2026

Kolkata: A major fire broke out at a car showroom in Bankra near Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on the northern outskirts of Kolkata early Monday morning, gutting 22 new cars and badly damaging eight others.

No casualties were reported in the incident, although the fire at the showroom took an alarming turn in the early hours.

Eight fire tenders deployed

A total of eight fire tenders reached the spot and battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control.

At the time of filing the report, cooling operations were underway as firefighters searched for any hidden pockets of fire inside the completely gutted showroom.

A state Fire Services Department official said the fire was first noticed by local residents at around 5 a.m. The nearest fire station was informed immediately, following which five fire tenders reached the spot and began firefighting. Three more fire tenders were later deployed.

The official said firefighters initially faced difficulties as they had to simultaneously contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to adjacent structures. The narrow entry point of the showroom also made firefighting operations challenging.

The situation was brought under control after hours of effort.

Fire safety measures under investigation

Questions have now been raised over whether the showroom had adequate fire safety arrangements.

Fire officials said no one from the service centre was present at the scene during the firefighting operation.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Officials said the showroom authorities would be questioned to determine whether adequate fire safety measures were in place.

Two major hotel fires reported earlier

West Bengal witnessed two major hotel fire incidents earlier this month, in which 18 people lost their lives, nine in each incident.

The first fire broke out at Hotel Bideshini in Tarapith, Birbhum district, near the famous Tara temple.

The second incident took place at Hotel Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata, where nine people, including seven Bangladeshi nationals, were killed.