20190601 Mumbai: Station master, staff contain fire at Saphale railway station
India Jun 01 2019 “Building” “Other bldg.”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Mumbai: Station master, staff contain fire at Saphale railway station
Updated: 2019–06–01
MUMBAI: A fire that broke out on the east side of the Saphale railway station on the Western Railway was douzed by the railway staff, including the station superintendent (SS) using two extinguishers on Saturday morning. No casualties were reported.
The two fire extinguishers were pressed into service as Saphale does not have a fire station. The fire tenders would have to arrive from either Virar (16 kms) or Palghar (14 kms), which would have taken over an hour. Saphale is the second station after Virar on the western line.
The fire was noticed near platform number 2 (towards Mumbai) at around 6.10am. The SS Chunnilal Aglesar (55) and other staff pulled out the two fire extinguishers and undertook the fire fighting operation. The fire fighting operation went on for about an hour. Aglesar, who knew how to operate the extinguisher, went on a spree containing the fire despite the heat making him uncomfortable. Aglesar said that he along with the staff decided to control the fire themselves as calling the Virar and Palghar fire tenders would take a long time.
As Aglesar was moving towards the flames with the extinguisher, he felt the heat from the flames getting to him. He, however, continued to operate the extinguisher and ensured that the fire did not spread to the cables. Signalling, announcement system and telephone cables passing through the spot were saved as the fire was brought under control. No injuries were caused.
While the cause of fire has not been ascertained, flames are believed to have erupted from the branches of cut trees that had dried up. Railway officials said that trees along the tracks on the east side were cut around two months ago as work on the Delhi Freight Corridor (DFC) is underway. The branches and dry leaves were left unattended. There are no closed circuit television (CCTV) at the spot where the fire took place.
The fire led to panic among commuters. Train services were not hit. Western Railway officials said that a letter of appreciation would be given to Aglesar and the staff for their presence of mind in controlling the flames.
Web Source: The times of india