Narrative:

Approximately 18 minutes into the flight at around FL240; an emergency call was made by the flight attendant. She indicated there was a fire in the galley area and [to] immediately land the airplane. We contacted center to declare an emergency. I commenced to execute an emergency descent and turn back. We were told there was a field by us; but the runway was considered marginal in length. The first officer and I donned masks and had goggles ready if needed. We could smell the burning electrical wiring. The flight attendant contacted us again and indicated that she put the fire out with the halon but the cabin was smoky. We elected to release the passenger oxygen masks to aid in breathing if the fire returned. We were cleared to the departure airport where we made a normal approach and landed. We were able to taxi to the ramp where arff personnel were standing by. Evaluation of the coffee machine was made and determined the fire originated there. Initially in the descent; exceeded the speed of aircraft by excessive descent. Reduced the pitch and brought the aircraft back to satisfactory descent profile. Otherwise; I believe the crew acted quickly and effectively to capture and contain the threat. The flight attendant performed her job in an outstanding manner and the first officer was effective and precise in handling the tasks needed to allow me to focus on flying the airplane and bring back to [departure airport] safely.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-145 Captain is informed of a fire in the galley by the Flight Attendant during climb. An emergency descent is initiated during which an overspeed occurs and the flight returns to the departure airport after hearing that the fire is out.

Narrative: Approximately 18 minutes into the flight at around FL240; an emergency call was made by the Flight Attendant. She indicated there was a fire in the galley area and [to] immediately land the airplane. We contacted Center to declare an emergency. I commenced to execute an emergency descent and turn back. We were told there was a field by us; but the runway was considered marginal in length. The First Officer and I donned masks and had goggles ready if needed. We could smell the burning electrical wiring. The Flight Attendant contacted us again and indicated that she put the fire out with the halon but the cabin was smoky. We elected to release the passenger oxygen masks to aid in breathing if the fire returned. We were cleared to the departure airport where we made a normal approach and landed. We were able to taxi to the ramp where ARFF personnel were standing by. Evaluation of the coffee machine was made and determined the fire originated there. Initially in the descent; exceeded the speed of aircraft by excessive descent. Reduced the pitch and brought the aircraft back to satisfactory descent profile. Otherwise; I believe the crew acted quickly and effectively to capture and contain the threat. The Flight Attendant performed her job in an outstanding manner and the First Officer was effective and precise in handling the tasks needed to allow me to focus on flying the airplane and bring back to [departure airport] safely.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.