The fire, which raged for about 12 hours since 5.30 am, gutted the 30-year-old building which houses the paper's editorial, circulation, advertising and accounts departments, fire-brigade officials said. The daily's library, treasure trove of information since 1930s, however, escaped major damage, they added.

The deceased has been identified as Kinkar Jana, office peon, who was trapped inside one of the worst-affected rooms, said the officials. Over 250 firemen battled with 32 tenders to douse the leaping flames which engulfed the two floors fanned by gusty winds, using snorkels and hydraulic lifters to put out the fire.

Sources said three fire personnel fell ill as dense smoke choked the staircases and were rushed to hospital. The State government decided to order an inquiry into the cause of the fire, Fire-servicesMinister Pratim Chatterjee told newsmen at the Secretariat after supervising fire-fighting operations.

Forensic experts rushed to the site to collect samples. Meanwhile, the ABP management in a statement said that despite the disruption in overall network, it would bring out edition of tomorrow's Ananda Bazar Patrika and The Telegraph. After noticing the fire at around 5.30 am, they informed the fire-brigade and started their own fire-fighting device. ``But when the fire continued to spread, we switched off the electric main and stopped the press functioning,'' they said.

``The fire mainly caught the third floor housing our editorial, advertising, circulation and accounts departments,'' they said, adding that the extent of damage was yet to be ascertained. ``We feel that most part of the third floor has been gutted,'' the management said. Stating that one of the company's employees the ABP management said that it was not known how Jana was trapped inside. Fire-brigade sources said thatcracks appeared on three sides of the five-storey building rendering it further susceptible to damage.

The heat was so intense inside the building that the roof of the third floor collapsed. The entire area was cordoned off with posse of policemen posted to facilitate smooth fire-fighting operations.