The 2006 Kolkata leather factory fire was a deadly industrial fire that occurred in West Bengal, India, on 22 November 2006. The fire broke out in a leather bag factory located in the Tannix International, Topsia, in the South 24 Parganas district in Greater Kolkata area, and generated a wave of criticism of the poor safety standards in place among the country's sweatshops.
The industrial fire claimed the lives of at least ten people, who were unable to escape because the doors were locked shut illegally. Authorities, in response to local residents' angry criticism, admitted that the emergency response to the accident was substandard. Two separate investigations were launched. One inquiry focused on the fire itself, while the other sought to ascertain criminal responsibility for the disaster as well as the operation of the illegal factory. The results of both are either pending or have yet to be released to the general public.
Background
Investigators confirmed that the site of the fire had been used as an illegal factory to manufacture leather bags. The factory was located on the third floor of a four-story building, which also featured residential units. Investigators determined that the first and second floors of the structure housed additional illegal factories. The factory destroyed in the fire was found to be owned and operated by Tenex Exports, and all of the people who were killed or injured in the fire slept in the factory at night, a situation that is not considered unusual in India. There was had just one emergency exit, and 40 workers were housed in the structure at the time of the fire, and the owner had locked the factory at night to prevent workers from running away with leather goods. The building was located in the Tannix International, Topsia, in the South 24 Parganas district of Greater Kolkata region.
Event and emergency response
The fire broke out in the factory at around 2:30 IST, as workers slept. Once they became aware of the blaze, the employees found they were unable to break through the factory's locked doors. Five fire tenders were sent to the scene, but by the time they arrived, local residents had broken down two locked gates and already rescued the surviving workers. These impromptu Rescue efforts were delayed however, when an individual carrying keys to open the door nervously dropped them while attempting to open the gate. At least 10 people were dead by the time rescuers reached the factory's interior, with a further eighteen injured. The survivors, many suffering from burns over 70 percent of their bodies, were taken to the National Medical College and Hospital, where victims had to be left on the floor due to a shortage of beds. The hospital did not have a burns unit, and the only treatments available at the hospital were ointments and saline drips. The patients were eventually moved to other hospitals. Local MLA Javed Khan later said that the death toll is actually at least twelve, but there has been no official confirmation of this. The Rapid Action Force was also deployed to maintain calm.
Criticisms of the emergency response
People living in the vicinity of the illegal factory said that the number of deaths might have been reduced had the fire service responded promptly. They claimed that the fire brigade failed to send personnel or equipment to the scene until more than an hour after the brigade first received word of the fire. Residents also claimed that it was only after the police arrived and requested fire service backup that any help was sent. In addition, some on the scene reported an inadequate number of ambulances. The city's mayor admitted to this lapse the following morning. Local people also complained that the victims should never have been taken to the Calcutta National Medical College, but that they should have been transported directly to hospitals with burns units.
Investigations
Accident investigation
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire as well as the reason the building had been locked from the outside. To this end, the building was inspected by the KMC, and was subsequently scheduled to be demolished on Thursday, 23 November. However, the structure is standing . Although no actual cause of the fire has been established, it has been noted that large quantities of inflammable materials, such as adhesives, were stored inside the building. It was also revealed that the factory experienced a similar fire two years previously, but on that occasion there were no fatalities.