Playing with fire: Hyderabad tragedy exposes chinks in fire-fighting armour
The fire accidents in crowded urban areas occur with such depressing regularity in India that there is always a sense of déjà vu surrounding them. After a round of ritualistic condemnations, announcement of compensation and official probes, the death toll soon reduces to cold statistics and then it is back to business as usual. Accountability is never fixed and lessons are never learnt.
The death of 17 people, including two children, in the horrific fire accident in a building near the iconic Charminar in Hyderabad has brought into focus the pathetic state of safety standards in the country and the urgent need for robust enforcement measures to avert such tragedies.
The blaze started on the ground floor of a three-storey structure in a narrow lane in Gulzar Houz area, which housed jewellery shops, before rapidly spreading to the upper residential floors. While the shops were unoccupied at the time, several families were staying in rooms on the upper levels.
The firefighters faced significant challenges accessing the site, as the narrow lanes restricted their movement. They were forced to climb adjacent buildings to reach the flames. The dense smoke inside the premises made the entry and rescue operations extremely difficult.
Shortage of oxygen masks
The angry relatives of the fire mishap victims complained that there were no oxygen masks inside the ambulances that carried the injured to the hospital. Many lives could have been saved if these ambulances had enough stock of oxygen masks, an essential part of the emergency kit.
This highlights one of the several areas of concern. Like many other overcrowded urban areas in the country, the Gulzar Houz area, where the accident occurred, has many unauthorised constructions with zero compliance with fire safety norms. Many residents and those who run small businesses are not aware of the fire safety protocols or how to respond to fire mishaps, leading to panic and delays in evacuation.
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The Hyderabad tragedy also highlights a more troubling issue of grossly under-staffed fire departments in many states. Whether it is the lack of fire stations, the shortage of trained firefighters, or the insufficient number of fire trucks and equipment, the gaps are too glaring to ignore. This puts millions of lives at risk.
Fighting with back to the wall
According to global standards, India would need about one firefighter for every 1,000 people to ensure adequate coverage. Given India’s population of 1.4 billion, this translates to approximately 1.8 million firefighters.
However, the current number of firefighters in India is only around 3,00,000, meaning we are falling short by about 1.5 million firefighters — a staggering gap. This situation demands urgent attention from the state governments to invest more in fire safety infrastructure, to safeguard the precious lives of citizens.
The fire safety infrastructure in many parts of the country is grossly inadequate. Narrow urban streets and unplanned layouts hinder firefighting efforts, and fire departments are often under-resourced, lacking modern equipment such as high-rise ladders and drones. Moreover, unauthorised constructions and non-compliance with fire safety norms add to the risks, making the enforcement of regulations a challenging task for authorities.
Laxity in enforcing safety norms is inexcusable. Preparedness is a well-developed discipline in most parts of the world. But in India, safety norms are observed more in breach than in practice. Outbreak after outbreak in the last three decades has highlighted the failure to learn from it and bring it into the design of public spaces, apartments, hospitals, commercial and office complexes. It is obvious that fire safety norms are being blatantly given the go-by. Such callous disregard for human life must not go unpunished. A nationwide audit is the need of the hour to prompt authorities into action.
No lessons learnt
Fire service is a state subject and was accordingly included in the 12th Schedule of the Constitution of India. The state governments are responsible for fire prevention and for implementing safety measures through the State Fire Services Act or building bylaws. The National Building Code (NBC), published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 1970 and updated in 2016, acts as the central standard for fire safety in India and provides guidelines regarding the general construction requirements, maintenance, exit routes and fire safety of buildings. And, it is a mandatory requirement for states to incorporate the NBC recommendations on minimum fire safety and rescue measures into their local bylaws.
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However, no lessons have been learnt from similar mishaps that struck workplaces in Hyderabad in the past. The failure to enforce even the basic safety regulations has only encouraged factory owners to throw all safety norms to the winds.
In 2002, a fire accident at a cracker shop in Begum Bazar had claimed 12 lives while three persons died in a similar tragedy at Meena Jewellers in 2006 and two persons lost their lives in a fire accident at Aurobindo Pharma unit in 2007. All these tragedies could have been prevented if a minimum set of fire safety standards was enforced. Blatant flouting of safety norms, ineffective monitoring and carelessness of the regulating agencies even at higher levels often lead to tragedies. More alarming is the government’s negligence in not putting in place a pre-emptive strategy to prevent fire accidents during the summer season.
There is an urgent need for a crackdown on illegal units operating in crowded areas in the city and to ensure exemplary punishment to the violators. Given India’s poor record in handling industrial accidents, experts have suggested shifting the industries from the densely populated areas so that emergency situations can be managed better. Apart from stringent licensing regulations, a well- trained and dedicated force for handling workplace disasters helps in effective management. Advanced and stringent safety practices have to be put in place and compliance has to be ensured.
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