Coffee House has a close shave again

One of Kolkata’s most celebrated venues for Bengali adda was saved by a whisker today. The historic Coffee House on College Street was ...

One of Kolkata’s most celebrated venues for Bengali adda was saved by a whisker today. The historic Coffee House on College Street was nearly enveloped by a fire that started in the ground floor of the building in the wee hours today.

This was the third fire in the building in last six years. The Coffee House on the third floor was somehow saved. But the building suffered damage.

Five book shops — including the well-known Chakraborty and Chatterjee, UN Dhar and Sons, Sen Roy and Sreeram Library — which were located on the ground floor, were gutted, police said.

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Though it was difficult to assess the extent of damage, a large number of books, worth Rs 25-30 lakh, were destroyed. No casualty was reported.

The Coffee House remained closed today.

According to the fire department officials, the fire started following a short circuit inside the electric meter on the ground floor of the three-storied building around 3.30 am. Soon after, the blaze engulfed seven book shops.

Some employees of the Coffee House and book sellers who were asleep, panicked and raised an alarm. Eight fire tenders were pressed into service and the blaze was controlled around 6.30 am. Another fire six years ago had damaged the coffee house building. But till date, the owner has not installed any fire safety measures, say fire officials.