Fire at historic Baker Laboratory, no damage

There was panic at the Presidency University Wednesday as a fire broke out in the historic Baker Laboratory, disrupting classes.

Police and fire brigade officials said the blaze was "minor" and there was no damage or injury.

Four fire tenders brought the blaze under control within a short time. The cause of the fire was not yet clear.

On April 10 last year, hooligans carrying flags of the students' wing of Trinamool Congress had vandalised the laboratory.

In 1913, under the leadership of Professor J.C. Bose, the physics department of the then Presidency College had moved to its current home, the Baker Laboratory, with its majestic Peake Library of Science on its upper floor.

Among the students of that time, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Sisir Kumar Mitra achieved international recognition for their pathbreaking work in atomic physics and statistical physics.