Why fire safety has become a key issue in urban governance

First, the mixed land-use practices in Urban India have resulted in commercial coaching hubs, chemical storage units, and small-scale manufacturing facilities operating out of narrow residential zones. It places highly combustible materials in close proximity to dense populations and has significantly increased the probability and scale of accidental fires. 

Second, the rapid increase in high-rise buildings owing to the vertical expansion in cities to maximise real estate has outpaced traditional firefighting techniques. Many of these buildings are out of the reach of firefighting equipment such as hydraulic ladders and high-pressure fire hoses. 

Third, the rapid growth of urban bottlenecks such as narrow arterial roads, street encroachments, and large amounts of bunched up overhead electrical wires means that emergency fire tenders are routinely blocked from reaching incident sites during the critical initial minutes of ignition. It severely hinders rapid response and rescue operations.

Governance and accountability

The responsibility of fire prevention in India is divided across multiple institutional actors. While Fire No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from Municipal authorities are required to sanction building permits, it is largely seen as a one-time administrative prerequisite for occupancy certificates. 

Fire safety and building bye-law violations are often treated by local authorities as minor civil infractions rather than as serious offences. Another issue stems from the State Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs), which often provide power connections without conducting mandatory structural load audits of internal wiring systems.

Thus, accountability regarding fire safety remains fragmented among urban local bodies, electrical inspectors, and law enforcement agencies, resulting in a reactive post-disaster response mechanism rather than a proactive framework that reduces risk from fire incidents.

Constitutional and regulatory frameworks

The regulatory framework for fire risk mitigation spans constitutional allocations of power, central technical benchmarks, and targeted fiscal schemes. The Constitution of India places fire services in the State List. This authority is further decentralised under the Twelfth Schedule via Article 243W, which classifies fire services as a municipal function to be administered by ULBs (Urban Local Bodies). 

As a result, there is no unified system of regulations on fire safety across the country. The statutory regulations, budgetary allocations, and enforcement capacities vary across states, leading to disparities in both the regulations and the levels of implementation.

At the central level, the National Building Code of 2016, published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) outlines technical standards on fire and life safety. The NBC establishes technical benchmarks for fire compartmentation and egress metrics (the physical dimensions of escape paths such as emergency doors, stairways, etc.) based on occupancy loads (maximum number of people permitted in 1 sq meter area).

But these provisions have remained largely advisory in nature and become enforceable after being explicitly incorporated into local bodies’ building laws. To address municipal resource gaps, the 15th Finance Commission earmarked ₹5,000 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the Scheme for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the States (SEMFSS), which operates on a 75:25 cost-sharing ratio (90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states). 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has issued model guidelines mandating dedicated evacuation infrastructure and automated smoke management systems, particularly for high-risk zones including ICUs and neonatal care units.

Core policy and implementation gaps

The practical execution of fire safety regulations in India faces three major hurdles. Firstly, administrative frameworks rely almost exclusively on the initial issuance of Fire No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) as a requirement for occupancy certificates.

The lack of a statutory mandate or provisions for compulsory periodic safety audits, even after the issuance of occupancy certificates, often leads to both structural modifications that increase fire risk and fire suppression equipment and mechanisms becoming non-functional over time.

Secondly, the existence of a mismatch in electrical infrastructure across urban centers. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India report shows that electrical short circuits account for roughly 17 per cent of total fire accident fatalities nationally. Over 75 per cent of structural urban fires in major metros like Delhi and Mumbai happen due to electrical faults. 

Furthermore, older urban structures are continuously scaling up power loads due to growing use of high-capacity air conditioning systems and other electrical equipment without upgrading the wiring or installing Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs), which detect micro-arcing (micro sparks within the electric system) before ignition occurs.  

Thirdly, the practice of modern architectural practices increasingly relies on exterior materials that are fire hazards, notably combustible Aluminum Composite Panel (ACP) cladding. The use of such materials enables low-level blazes to bypass structural compartmentation and engulf multi-story buildings within minutes. The absence of regulations to prevent the use of such materials leads to fire hazards being built into buildings and acting as accelerators during a fire.

Strengthening fire safety institutions

For a fire-safe urban India, there is a need to align India’s fire safety framework with Priority 2 and Priority 3 of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), namely the strengthening of disaster risk governance and investing in disaster risk reduction. This will require targeted administrative and structural reforms. 

The upgradation of state fire services into independent fire prevention and safety authorities with statutory powers can have a direct impact on public compliance with these norms. Such power would include conducting unannounced audits, issuing binding compliance notices, and the ability to directly seal non-compliant commercial or institutional structures. 

State governments could use market-based compliance mechanisms, like linking commercial property insurance renewals to independent, third-party fire safety audits. Increasing premiums could incentivise property owners to maintain functional fire safety infrastructure. 

Leveraging technology for fire safety

The updating of municipal building laws to mandate the use of smart technology, particularly the installation of AFCIs to mitigate electrical short circuits, would help. It could also require integrating IoT (Internet of Things) enabled smoke detectors directly with city Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) under the Smart Cities network so that fire alerts are transmitted without human reporting delays. 

The use of AFCIs is mandatory in most of the developed world and is responsible for preventing several fire incidents. This may become a norm in India too. Urban local bodies need to invest in fire forensics and local emergency response capacity by establishing micro-fire stations equipped with specialised equipment that can be useful in congested commercial zones. Mandatory fire drills in institutional setups like hospitals, schools, and coaching hubs can also improve preparedness to respond to fire incidents and avoid issues such as stampedes. 

As India transitions toward the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, fire safety will be an important component in measuring whether the nation has achieved true development. A modern developed nation requires cities with infrastructure that is safe from fire accidents and guarantees the safety of the public from avoidable calamities such as urban blazes.

Post read questions

1. Has rapid urbanisation significantly increased India’s vulnerability to urban fires? Examine the structural causes behind this trend and suggest suitable reforms.

2. Critically examine the regulatory and governance gaps in India’s urban fire safety framework. Suggest measures to build fire-resilient cities.

3. How can technology improve fire risk reduction and emergency response in Indian cities?
Discuss the significance of periodic fire safety audits in reducing disaster risk.

4. Urban fire safety should be viewed as an integral component of disaster risk reduction rather than merely an emergency response issue. Examine.

(Kannan K is a Doctoral candidate at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.) 

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