Danilimda Police Station Fire, Ahmedabad: 20 to 35 Seized and Parked Vehicles Damaged, No Casualties; Cause Under Investigation

What happened

On the afternoon of Saturday, 24 October 2026, a fire broke out in the open compound at the back of Danilimda Police Station in Ahmedabad, where vehicles seized in police cases and other vehicles were parked. The flames moved from one vehicle to the next and left a long row of two-wheelers and cars as charred frames. No one was hurt. Gujarat Samachar and Bhaskar English put the report on 24 October; the Times of India text says “Friday”, which would be 23 October. We use 24 October and mark the difference. Updated 26 October 2026.

Police staff and local residents saw the fire and first tried to put it out with the equipment they had, and the fire brigade was alerted. Gujarat Samachar says the firefighters, who reached soon after, brought it fully under control and kept it from reaching the main station building. Nobody was hurt and the building was spared, but a government premises with a yard full of vehicles beside residential lanes is exactly where a slightly different timing or wind could have made the day worse, which is why we have written it up.

How many vehicles

The count is not settled. Bhaskar English says more than 20 vehicles were damaged, with 20 to 25 seized vehicles hit and more than 20 reportedly gutted. Gujarat Samachar says more than 20 seized and parked vehicles were destroyed and gives the same 20 to 25 estimate. The Times of India says more than 35 vehicles were damaged and more than 20 were reduced to ashes. A Sandesh News video headline says 15 or more. We use “20 to 35 or more”. Some vehicles belonged to police staff and to visitors, so owners are still being identified. Authorities have started an audit to confirm the number and the owners; no loss figure has been given.

Cause and inquiry

A short circuit is the preliminary suspicion, but nobody has confirmed it. Bhaskar English and Gujarat Samachar both say so, and the Times of India says the cause is unknown. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is to examine the spot. Danilimda police have registered an accidental-incident report (Janvajog), which opens a formal inquiry. We found no report of a case against anyone, and we do not suggest any.

A short circuit in a yard of seized vehicles can come from the vehicles themselves (battery, wiring, fuel left in the tank) or from loose electrical fittings or cables nearby. The reports do not say which. We will update this page when the FSL finding is out.

This is not a one-off

Police-station vehicle yards burn often enough to be a pattern. In May 2026 a fire in the malkhana parking of New Ashok Nagar police station in east Delhi gutted more than 140 seized vehicles, with several explosions heard, and firefighters worked to stop the flames reaching the police quarters and a school next door. The Times of India notes an earlier malkhana fire at Wazirabad that gutted over 300 vehicles (Times of India and Hindustan Times, 20 May 2026). In Bhopal, five cars and a scooter parked at Jahangirabad police station burnt on 22 to 23 October 2026, and Amar Ujala says police stations in the city hold more than 4,000 old seized vehicles, some from the 1990s, with no firm system to dispose of them. The same paper recalls an earlier fire at Hanumanganj police station. These are all seized vehicles waiting years in the open.

Our own cases show how fast vehicles burn in a row: the Lucknow EV showroom fire gutted 17 vehicles, and the Bangalore Gangondanahalli parking lot fire spread through a closely parked lot. Ahmedabad’s city safety guide lists the local emergency numbers and fire risks.

Lessons for readers

• Police stations, depots and any yard that holds impounded vehicles: keep rows apart with a lane wide enough for a fire tender, and keep the yard away from the station building, quarters, schools and fuel stores. Delhi’s fire officer named keeping flames from the quarters and the school as the hardest part of the job.
• Dispose of condemned vehicles on time. Old vehicles with fuel left in tanks and ageing wiring are a standing fuel load; Bhopal’s four thousand old vehicles show how a backlog builds up. Drain fuel and disconnect batteries of vehicles that will sit in a yard.
• Keep working extinguishers and a water point at the yard, and check them as in our extinguisher PASS guide. Staff and residents here used whatever they had before the brigade arrived, which shows how thin the first response can be.
• Know your fire-call routine. Call 101 or 112 first, then fight the fire only while it is small; see our emergency numbers guide and the note on fire response distance.
• Visitors and staff: do not park your own vehicle against a row of seized or old vehicles. Personal vehicles were among those hit here.
• Check the electrics and keep records. Loose cables and overloaded lights near yards are common starting points; see small electrical faults that cause big fires and parking-area fire checks. CCTV and a vehicle register help the audit after a fire. Public-building duties are covered in our government buildings note.

What is still not known

The cause is not established; a short circuit is only the preliminary view. The vehicle count (20 to 35 or more), the number destroyed, the owners and the value are not confirmed. The reports give no time of the fire call, no number of fire tenders and no fire officer’s statement, and do not say whether the yard had extinguishers or a water point. We will update this page when the FSL report or the audit is out. Last checked 26 October 2026.