A major fire broke out on the 28th floor of Tower 3 at the upscale South City residential complex in south Kolkata on Friday morning, prompting an immediate deployment of eight fire engines to suppress the blaze. Emergency personnel, including firefighters, technical teams, and local police, responded swiftly to secure the high-rise structure, coordinate a complete evacuation of residents, and contain the dangerous situation.
What Triggered the Crisis at the Residential High-Rise?
The incident occurred during early morning hours on Friday when thick clouds of black smoke began billowing from a flat on the 28th floor of Tower 3 inside the prominent South City complex on Prince Anwar Shah Road. The smoke was initially spotted originating from a storeroom within the affected unit. Before full-scale municipal firefighting units arrived at the scene, internal security personnel and brave residents took immediate proactive steps, using the gated community's built-in firefighting systems to slow the spread. Officials from the Kolkata Fire and Emergency Services and officers from the nearby Jadavpur Police Station were dispatched without delay after receiving frantic emergency calls from on-site guards and residents.
Where Is the Affected Skyscraper Located?
The fire occurred inside Tower 3 of the South City residential project, situated in the heart of southern Kolkata. South City stands as one of the most prominent, high-density residential gated communities in West Bengal, located right next to the massive and popular South City Mall. The tower where the blaze occurred is one of several multi-story high-rises within the complex that together accommodate thousands of families. Because the flames broke out at an altitude as high as the 28th floor, managing fire safety access and carrying equipment up to the localized blaze presented immediate tactical challenges for responding crews.
Who Led the Evacuation and Emergency Operations?
A well-coordinated multi-agency effort ensured that the high-rise emergency was managed without loss of life. Kolkata Fire and Emergency Services directed eight fire tenders straight to the venue to initiate aggressive firefighting hose operations and conduct immediate cooling drills. Standard high-rise safety procedures were executed as technical staff from the power utility CESC cut off the main electricity supply feeding Tower 3 to reduce electrical hazards. Disconnecting the power naturally rendered all residential elevators non-operational, requiring children, adults, and elderly citizens to navigate down the staircases under the guidance of emergency personnel and internal security. Debashis Basu, general secretary of the South City Residents' Association, confirmed that police and fire officials successfully secured every section of the tower and cleared occupants safely out of harm's way.
How Was the Fire Defeated and What Caused It?
Firefighters deployed specialized hose lines to combat the fire directly, successfully preventing the flames from spreading horizontally to neighboring units or jumping vertically to upper residential floors. Senior fire department authorities confirmed that the main flames were successfully subdued within roughly an hour, after which crews transitioned into damping-down operations to cool persistent thermal hotspots. While preliminary observations point toward an electrical short circuit inside the storeroom as the probable trigger, official authorities noted that a thorough forensic investigation will take place to establish the exact cause once the structure is declared completely cool and safe. First responders and medical officials confirmed that zero casualties or injuries were sustained throughout the high-altitude ordeal.