Fire in Hardoi Station AC Waiting Room: No Casualties on PET Day

What happened

On Sunday evening, 25 October 2026, at about 7 pm, a fire broke out in the air-conditioned (AC) waiting room at Hardoi railway station in Uttar Pradesh. Dainik Bhaskar and Hindustan both say the fire started from a short circuit in the waiting room’s switch board, and that Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) staff put it out with fire extinguishers after cutting the power. No injuries or deaths are mentioned in either report, and no fire brigade is mentioned. Checked 28 October 2026.

It was also the day of the UPSSSC Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET), and Bhaskar says the station had a heavy crowd of examinees and other passengers. About 15 to 20 minutes of commotion followed, in Bhaskar’s account, and Hindustan says about 15 minutes. Hindustan adds that the passengers sitting in the room left in fear when they saw sparks. Bhaskar says the dry chemical powder from the extinguishers spread through the waiting room, and that the room operator’s alertness and the quick action of the security staff stopped a bigger accident.

Where the reports differ

• Time: Hindustan says Sunday evening at about seven. Bhaskar says late evening at about seven. These match.
• Cause: Hindustan names a short circuit in the wires of a switch. Bhaskar names a short circuit in the switch board and adds, citing sources, that electrical department work was on at the station and the supply may have been fluctuating or the wires overloaded. That second part is a possibility reported by sources, not a finding.

What is not known

No report gives the number of people in the room, the damage, whether the fire alarm sounded, or whether any inquiry or repair order followed. We do not know how old the wiring was or what work was going on. Neither outlet quotes a railway officer. Nothing here is a finding against the railways or any person.

Why we have covered a small fire

The fire was small and was put out within about 15 minutes, with no casualty. We have written it up because it was in a railway station, where large crowds gather and where a fire in a closed AC room can fill the hall with smoke and set off a rush for the exits. It is also a useful example of what worked: staff with extinguishers acted at once and the supply was cut.

Live, work or travel around Hardoi? Our Hardoi safety guide lists the emergency numbers, the district fire stations and the main local risks, from road crashes to monsoon floods.

What could have gone wrong on a different day is not stated by any source, so we say only that the potential was there.

What you can do

• If you see sparks or smoke from a switch or socket: tell the staff at once and move away calmly. Do not pick up your bags if that slows you down, and do not run. Call 112 or the railway helpline 139. Our guide on whether a short circuit can cause a fire shows the early signs.
• Staff and operators: know where the extinguishers are and how to use them. The PASS method is the simplest to remember. Switch off the supply first when the fire is electrical.
• Railway and station managers: when electrical works are going on at a station, check the load on old circuits (our explainer on why small electrical faults cause big fires shows how weak wiring heats up), the switch boards in closed rooms and the extinguishers nearby, and have a clear exit plan for crowded days such as exam days.
• After the extinguisher is used: the dry powder can irritate eyes and the throat, so air the room before it is used again.

For other fires in busy public places, see the Midnapore Central bus stand fire and the Bhuleshwar building fire in Mumbai. Our guide to the railway platform emergency plan covers what to do at a station.