Early on Sunday morning, a fire broke out, destroying the students’ belongings held in a dorm common area, including bedding and other stuff.
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Common Room was where the students put various important documents, bedding, and other belongings when a fire broke out on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur campus.
According to IIT sources, there were no reports of any casualties or injuries.
According to institute sources, the security guards discovered the fire in the common area at around three in the morning, when every one of the staff, researchers, and students was sound asleep. Security personnel eventually noticed flames shooting out of the windows and window panes breaking one by one. Security personnel and others initially attempted to put out the fire, but they were unable.
Professors, staff members, and students all froze in fear. The nearest fire station was promptly contacted. Firefighters flocked to the scene, and after many hours of intensive fire putting out, the blaze was brought under control. After a short while, one firefighter from Kharagpur was dispatched. Later, Salua deployed another firefighter. The fire was put out at 4:30 in the morning.Â
The campus’s residents started to panic as soon as the area started to be shrouded in black smoke. However, until the report was filed, no casualty or injury had been documented.
To be sure there was no pocket fire present that could re-ignite, the cooling procedure was continued for another hour. The common area and the items kept inside were discovered to have been completely destroyed when the fire was put out.
It has not yet been determined what started the fire. The cause of the incident, according to the fire officials, may have been a short circuit.
A storeroom close to the common area served as the fire’s origin. However, concerns are being voiced over the fire safety protocols at this venerable national technology institute.
Recall that the same fire occurred at IIT-Kharagpur in March 2021. At that time, no casualties or property losses were reported.
Fire System by Another IIT
On December 3, 2022, the Shah Bhogilal Jethalal Laboratory for Passive Fire System Testing was officially opened by the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), which received accreditation from worldwide standards.
To improve fire safety in the nation, the laboratory will support the research, development, and testing of items for passive fire barriers. The new facility can test goods up to 3×3 meters in size, including fire doors, walls, dampers, fire curtains, door hardware, horizontal through penetration firestops, and more.
Through rigorous testing, this was created with the intention of assisting the industry in the development of new products and compliance with various national and international building codes to improve fire safety in high-rise buildings, airports, metro rail systems, and other infrastructure projects. Because of the lab’s cost-effective indigenous design, current goods, designs, and costs are optimized for the advantage of the consumers.
