Eskay Movies fire incident: The only glimmer of hope is that no one is injured

After hours of constant struggle, the fire at the equipment warehouse of Eskay Movies at Kudghat, Tollygunge, was doused. As many as 14 were at work as the blazing flame turned expensive film equipment into ashes. However, there has been no casualty. A fire broke out in the morning of Thursday. The production house issued a press statement later in the evening. 

The fire safety department and police are yet to ascertain the reason for the fire. However, the storehouse was full of inflammable articles and hence the fire spread quickly. The fire brigade also had to struggle to manoeuvre since the area was congested. According to the reports, the owners of the production house, Ashok Dhanuka and his son Himangshu Dhanuka, were not seen in the area. 

When we contacted Himangshu Dhanuka in the afternoon, he said, "We are yet to ascertain the losses."

The house, however, issued a statement in the evening that stated, “We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that struck us today morning. The only glimmer of hope is that no one inside the premises or in the adjoining areas was injured in the massive fire. We bow our heads to the Almighty and the administration for protecting everyone’s life. We also thank all our friends and well-wishers in the industry who have reached out to us in this hour of crisis and huge financial loss.” 

Fire brigade minister Sujit Guha announced that there will be a forensic probe into the incident. Eskay Movies is one of the leading equipment suppliers in the Bengali film industry. The incident is likely to have a major implication on the workflow in the industry. Questions have arisen over the way the safety protocol was maintained in the warehouse.