KOLKATA: One of Maidan’s oldest and most recognized clubs, owing its genesis to the Partition, got reduced to ashes after a fire broke out in the early hours of Monday. Wari Athletic Club still competes in the top tiers of the city’s football, cricket and hockey leagues. For most old-timers of Maidan who flocked to the tent after hearing the news, it was nothing short of a slice of history going up in flames.“The fire damaged the entire club tent on Mayo Road. The trophies, players’ kits, important documents, TV sets, gym equipment — everything was gutted,” said the club’s general secretary, Prabir Chakraborty.The cause of the blaze, which started around 5.40am, is yet to be ascertained. One of the groundsmen sleeping inside the tent was injured and was treated at SSKM Hospital. He was later discharged. A senior Kolkata Police officer said primarily, a short circuit in a refrigerator was suspected to have caused the fire. Four fire tenders were deployed and the flames were brought under control by 6.10am, he said. “We are trying to find out the actual reason and waiting for the report from the fire department,” the officer added.Police will carry out an inspection with CESC once the forensic team collects samples from the spot.“There was a meeting last evening and I had decided to clean up the room on Monday morning. I woke up smelling something burning and went to check the meeting room. I saw the coils behind the refrigerator burning and decided to switch off the main. I sustained burns on my hand and face while trying to do so,” said 52-year-old groundsman Rabindra Bal.Kolkata’s Wari Athletic Club moved into the existing tent in 1949. The founders, Bhupendra Mohan (Pakhi) Sen, who played for East Bengal in 1939, Tejes (Bagha) Shome and Dinesh Dutta, were all members of Dacca Wari Club and had shifted to Calcutta after the Partition. The Dacca Wari Club exists to this date.Following the initiative of late Pankaj Gupta, the AIFF chief, the club was inducted to CFL third division in 1949 by IFA. By 1952, it became a first-division club. “We have a rich history, which is not limited to football. Our club owes its genesis in Dhaka and our Maidan club was set up in 1949. In a way, we are part of the same legacy that East Bengal is — a slice of Dhaka which represented the aspirations of millions coming to this city from east Bengal,” said a club official.Another club official said most players had reached the club in time for practice on Monday, but were asked to go home. The club, which plays in the top tiers of the CAB cricket league, is scheduled to play their next match on April 4. “We will talk to the CAB, the IFA and the Bengal Hockey Association (BHA), besides convening an emergency meeting of the club. We wish that the state will stand by us in this crisis,” he said.Club sources said they are also expecting that some of the older clubs of the Maidan, like Kalighat and Bhowanipore clubs, will stand by them along with the big three — East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. The club plays in first division group B in the BHA-organized league.