Fire breaks out at police commissioner’s office

Fire broke out in a ground floor room of the century-old Mumbai police headquarters at Crawford Market, a heritage building, on Sunday.

Fire broke out in a ground floor room of the century-old Mumbai police headquarters at Crawford Market, a heritage building, on Sunday.

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No injuries were reported as the office was shut and the fire was controlled immediately.

A short circuit in a computer is the reported reason causing the fire.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, HQ II Vijaysingh Jadhav told Hindustan Times: “Around 10.45 am, smoke was seen coming out of the desk 10 room, adjacent to the web designing centre, on the ground floor of the commissionerate at Crawford Market.”

“The constable who noticed the smoke rushed to the room, broke open the door and tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher. The fire brigade was also summoned,” added Jadhav.

The fire was doused within 45 minutes following the fire brigade's reinforcement of two fire tenders and a tanker.

Jadhav said some routine files and a computer were completely burnt, while two cupboards were partly damaged. When asked if the data in the files was lost, Jadhav said they had a back-up for the files and the computer.

This is not the first time that a short circuit has occurred in the Commissioner of Police’s office. Just a month ago the office blacked out for more than four hours after a short circuit in the main control room.

The commissionerate had already approached the Public Works Department, which is responsible for the upkeep of the building and the electrical wirings, to change the old wirings. Nothing has happened so far.