Fire Damages Records and Computers at Byculla Police Station

A fire broke out on the first floor of the 102-year-old Byculla police station building in Byculla, Mumbai, on Sunday evening, damaging furniture, equipment, physical files, paper registers, and digital records. The Mumbai Fire Brigade received a call at 8:24 PM and brought the blaze under control by 9:50 PM. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The blaze affected the record room and computer room located on the first floor of the ground-plus-one building. Senior Police Inspector Deepak Sawant stated that he was at home when he received a phone call around 8:30 PM informing him of the fire. The outbreak occurred just as officers and personnel reporting for the night shift were arriving at the station.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade classified the incident as a Level-1 emergency at 8:28 PM and dispatched four fire engines, three water tankers, a breathing apparatus van, and an articulated special vehicle. Fire tenders reached the site within 10 minutes from the fire brigade headquarters located across the railway line. Firefighters brought the flames under control in about 20 minutes once operations began.

Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar said the fire spread rapidly because the structure contains a large amount of wooden construction material. He noted that burning paper inside the record room generated dense smoke during the incident. Built in 1924, the Byculla police station is a Grade II-A heritage building in south Mumbai.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Santosh Sawant said firefighters used only the minimum required amount of water to extinguish the flames in order to protect crucial records and computers containing critical data. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, though Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayant Meena stated that it was prima facie triggered by a short circuit.

Police officials said the exact extent of loss and damage will be determined once the fire brigade declares the affected area safe for physical inspection and entry.