Malviya Nagar fire: The deadly blaze in South Delhi on Wednesday has brought back into focus the numerous fire safety gaps in India’s urban areas — including the absence of a culture of fire preparedness and the lack of institutional support in responding to an incident.

While the number of fire-related incidents and fatalities have broadly been coming down over the years, the single striking feature is that residential areas continue to be, by far, the single largest source of fire-linked fatalities in India, shows official data.

A key reason behind residential and commercial fires, especially in urban centres, is the lack of compliance with building by-laws and planning norms. Indeed, Wednesday’s fire in the densely populated Malviya Nagar took place at a hotel that was originally a residential structure but had been extensively expanded.

Here’s a look at why urban areas, particularly residential structures, in the country have been particularly vulnerable to fires.

60% of fire deaths took place in residential buildings

Out of every ten documented fire-related deaths in India in 2024, six occurred in residential or dwelling buildings, according to an analysis of the 2024 National Crime Records Bureau report by Beyond Carlton, a Bengaluru-based non-profit focused on fire safety. That year, 5,888 fire-related deaths were recorded nationally, and about 3,555 happened inside homes and residential buildings.

That’s partly because unlike purely commercial buildings, most residential spaces in India continue to operate without smoke alarms, suppression systems, evacuation planning or routine safety awareness. 

In several areas of Delhi, for instance, several homeowners have converted their residential properties into bed & breakfast establishments, often flouting rules. In the case of Flourish Stays B&B, the structure that caught fire, the owner had increased the number of rooms from six to 26, spread across six levels.

“Cities need a fire plan — where multiple stakeholders are alert and accountable,” Cheryl Rebello, CEO, Beyond Carlton, told The Indian Express. 

The highest incidents of fire-linked casualties in non-residential buildings are the ones reported from hospitals and bustling commercial areas such as shopping centres. 

Who is responsible?

Fire services are technically a state subject and have been included as a municipal function in the XII Schedule of the Constitution under Article 243 (W). So, it is the primary responsibility of the state governments to take measures for strengthening and equipping their fire departments.

While the Centre largely has an advisory role in this, the Bureau of Indian Standards in 2016 published the National Building Code of India (NBC) that covered detailed guidelines for construction, maintenance and fire safety of buildings and structures. 

The latest version of the NBC, from 2016, includes aspects such as smoke management, periodic audits, electrical fire prevention, building management systems, sensors for firefighting and fire prevention. The problem, however, lies in implementation of all these regulations, as seems to be the case in the latest fire in the Delhi locality. According to officials, it was triggered by a short circuit.

Besides electrical faults, the trigger for most residential fires is a gas leak. Accidents in domestic LPG cylinders happen due to various reasons that include pilferage from cylinders, transfer of LPG from domestic to non-domestic cylinder, the use of non-approved or non-standard equipment and the improper handling at consumer’s premises. This includes not changing hosepipe periodically leading to its wear and tear, failure of O-rings, leakage from LPG hose, leakage from stove, LPG cylinder bursting due to extreme heat generated during fire caused by other factors, a government official said, quoting Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas advisories on this issues.

Urban fires

Fire is one of the most common risks worldwide and has been identified as one of the major hazards in the United Nation Global Assessment Report 2018. The definitions could vary: the Emergency Management Division of Washington DC has defined fire as “uncontrolled burning in a residence or building from natural, human or technical causes” (Emergency Management Division — Washington, 2002), while the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also identified fire as “a human-induced disaster”.

Its side effects are deadly too. “It depletes oxygen from the surrounding event and most of the victims  in a fire die of asphyxiation due to smoke and lack of oxygen. Then there could be the release of toxic gases from burning of materials due to fire that cause choking of lungs and breathing problems for the victims. In addition, the heating effect of fire results in expansion of liquids, gases and various metals, which often lead to explosions and bursts”, according to the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), a body under the Ministry of Home Affairs that tracks disasters emanating from multiple sources.

Resource constraint has been a problem in tackling triggers of fire, especially in urban areas. The Fifteenth Finance Commission, while noting lack of resources and equipment for the fire services in the country and recognising the need for expansion and modernization of Fire Services, has recommended a provision of Rs 5,000 crore for strengthening fire services at the state level.

The high density of urban settlements resulting in narrow and constricted circulation spaces also add to the urban fire vulnerabilities, according to the NIDM.

The high use of electrical equipment and machinery in urban areas leads to higher chances of faulty electric connections and gadget failures amplifies the risks further. 

Urban fires therefore occur in complex risk settings, with one or more factors coming into play simultaneously. According to an earlier report by the Ministry of Home Affairs (2022), there is “a considerable gap in operational capabilities of fire and emergency services in Indian cities”. Growing high-rises in urban areas further necessitate procurement of specialised equipment for fire fighting, which is slow to come by.