Prague commuters are in for a rough few weeks. Staroměstská metro station is going to be closed for about a month after a fire damaged the escalators this past weekend.

What happened?

According to the Prague Transport Company (DPP), someone threw a lit object onto the escalators, causing a cable fire. The blaze broke out just before midnight on Saturday.

Firefighters got to the scene quickly and managed to put it out with handheld extinguishers. Still, the station had to be completely evacuated, and it hasn’t reopened since. Trains are currently just passing through without stopping.

“Our technicians are already working on repairs,” said Daniel Šabík, DPP’s head of communications. “It’s not just about fixing cables — the whole system needs to be cleaned and tested. Once we take apart the escalator components and run measurements, we’ll know more about the exact timeline.”

Six Young Men Linked to Fire — All Identified

On Sunday, police released CCTV images of six young men seen near the scene. By Monday afternoon, all six had been identified. Investigators say they plan to interrogate them soon, suspecting the fire was caused by negligence and may fall under public endangerment charges.

The group reportedly left just minutes before the fire began. A video released by the police shows the moment the flames started — though authorities haven’t yet confirmed who actually ignited the object that caused the fire.

Escalator Repairs Underway

DPP was already fixing one of the station’s escalators when the fire hit. Now, all escalator arms are damaged. The company says the fire caused electrical and mechanical damage, meaning none of the escalators are safe to use.

“First we have to clean everything thoroughly,” Šabík added. “Then we’ll replace what’s necessary and check the mechanics. We expect it to take around a month, but we’ll confirm once we’ve done the initial inspections.”

For now, there are no alternative routes or shuttle buses announced.

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