A minor fire broke out at a food stall in the concourse area of Churchgate railway station on Thursday evening, prompting a swift response from stall staff and fire officials. The incident, reported around 5:26 p.m., was brought under control within minutes, and no injuries were reported.
“No casualties or injuries were reported in the incident. Operations at the busy Churchgate station continued without disruption,” said an official.
According to Western Railway (WR), prima facie it seems the fire was caused by a short circuit at a stall on the ground floor of the station complex. The exact cause of the incident will be ascertained after an investigation.
“An incident of sparking due to a short circuit was reported at one of the stalls in the Churchgate concourse area. Immediately, a fire extinguisher was used by the alert staff, and everything was brought under control within five minutes. There is no injury or report of any harm to anyone. Train operations are normal at Churchgate,” said a WR official.
Sources stated that although the blaze was quickly doused, a significant amount of smoke spread across the premises, prompting authorities to vacate some office spaces on the first floor as a precautionary measure. The first floor houses several network servers crucial to station operations. As a result, the functioning of stations indicator's was also affected for some time .
The Mumbai Fire Brigade confirmed receiving an emergency call at 5:26 p.m., and the fire was completely extinguished by 5:35 p.m. Two fire engines were dispatched to the site. According to the fire brigade, the fire was confined to electrical wiring, installations, and an air-conditioning unit located in a food stall on the ground floor of the multi-storey railway station building.
