A twin fire razed to ground a plastic toy godown at Hakim Para and a factory where thermocol boxes are made at Matigara in Siliguri today. Timely action from the fire and emergency services stopped the fire from spreading and causing bigger damage, while there were no reports of casualties in both the incidents.

Six fire tenders fought the flames at the godown, while at least three tenders doused the fire at the factory.

Plastic toys had been stored in the godown, while ‘saris’ were stored in another room on the same premises, but it was unaffected.

The site is located close to residential apartments and the incident sparked panic among the residents there.

A car parked near the godown was also damaged in the incident.

“It was around 9 am, when I saw thick smoke billowing out, and the leaping flames. Fire tenders rushed in to douse the fire after some time. The window panes of my flat were broken,” said Dr Krishnendu Dey, whose chamber is located beside the godown at Swamiji Sarani under Ward 15.

Firefighters led by divisional fire officer of the Darjeeling division, West Bengal fire and emergency services, Ashish Putatunda, conducted the operation.

“There were some flammable products inside the godown. The cause of the fire will be ascertained after forensic investigations. We will check whether there was fire fighting mechanism in the godown, if not then we will lodge a complaint. Our first priority was to save human lives and arrest the fire at the earliest,” Mr Putatunda said.

An excavator was also pressed into service to pull down a vulnerable portion of the wall there.

“We were in panic as thick black smoke billowed from the godwon. But fortunately, it did not spread,” said a local resident, Debarati Dutta.

State tourism minister Gautam Deb, Darjeeling district Trinamuul Congress president Ranjan Sarkar, and borough-II chairman Pradip Goyal were among others present there.

“It is not the time for blame game, but a time to control the fire,” Mr Deb said.

Meanwhile, Siliguri Metropolitan Police officers were controlling the mob and alerting them through the public address system. Deputy mayor of the SMC, Rambhajan Mahato, and member of mayor-in council, water supply of the civic body Saradindu Chakrabarty also reached the spot.