Impact assessment of fire incidents and implications for safety standards and regulations in India

Fire impacts people, places, properties and the environment around the globe. Fire destroys everything in its path and the resulting losses and impacts are huge and widespread. It can have long-lasting consequences for those caught in it as well as the cascading shocks for people and systems. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, between 2001 and 2020, India recorded more than 370,000 deaths and 39,000 serious injuries due to fire incidents. Besides death and injuries, there have been devasting physical, economic, health, psychological and environmental impacts of these incidents. Yet, there is a lack of formal studies or research reports in India that capture these impacts in detail for their severity and consequences.

This study is an endeavour to address the research gap by examining the economic, social, health and environmental impacts of fire in residential, commercial and public buildings. Six case studies, from Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Surat and Delhi, have been chosen for in-depth analysis of these impacts. The analysis brings out significant implications for safety standards, policies and regulations and the behavioral change needed as a society.

During the last two decades, big changes are happening around us in terms of design and construction of new mixed-use buildings, high-rises and skyscrapers, new materials being used for interior designing and modifications inside premises to create more space. Equipment currently used to fight fires in such establishments is grossly inadequate. Fire safety norms, rules and regulations also need constant revision and upgradation to account for new construction material. Efforts should also be made to ‘build back better’ when rehabilitation of fire-affected premises is done so that people do not come back to the same hazards.