BENGALURU: Office bearers of Beyond Carlton, a citizen-led initiative focused on fire safety, questioned the accuracy of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, which claims a sharp decline in fire accidents over the decades. They urged for cross-verification with hospital records, fire department, and burns registries to ensure reliable statistics.
“From 22,788 cases in 1996, incidents peaked at 27,976 in 1999, averaging 23,000 annually until 2014. However, numbers dropped drastically to 7,566 in 2022. While this suggests a downward trend in fire incidents and deaths, the data accuracy needs to be verified,” said Gopal Devanahalli, Trustee, Beyond Carlton.
In 2022, there were 7,435 fatalities due to fire accidents as compared to 27,561 in 1996. On average, women comprised 60 percent of all fire-related fatalities. There is a clear need to double-check on the data collection process and the assumption modes. Triangulation using other data sources like burn registry, hospital data, fire department call centre data will help us confirm the progress that the numbers indicate, Devanahalli said.
“While the number of LPG connections has doubled from 14.52 crore in 2014 t0 32.83 crore in 2024, fire deaths from LPG-related incidents have decreased by over 50 percent. While there have been serious efforts by distribution companies to create fire safety awareness, this reduction deserves closer scrutiny. A non-uniform re-classification of the raw data may have caused this. More than 50 percent of the causes are categorised as ‘other causes’, which suggests a need for better forensic capabilities in the investigation team,” RA Venkitachalam, Trustee, Beyond Carlton, said.
Beyond Carlton also released a first of its kind report ‘Fire Safety in India- a Beyond Carlton Perspective’ at the Bengaluru Press Club on Thursday.
Speaking at the event, Uday Vijayan, Managing Trustee and President, Beyond Carlton said, fire safety must be a collective responsibility.
“The report is not just about identifying problems, it is a roadmap for urgent reforms that can save lives. With data from NCRB indicating that approximately 1,85,383 people lost lives due to fire accidents between 2010 and 2019, an alarming average of 65 deaths per day, the report highlights the urgent need for action.
While India has made progress, significant gaps remain in enforcement, preparedness and community involvement. The lack of adequate fire stations, trained personnel, and modern firefighting technology contributes to slow emergency response times, especially in highly populated cities,” Vijayan said.
Venkitachalam, further said India’s rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have led to the proliferation of high-rise buildings, commercial complexes, and industrial establishments. While these developments signify economic progress, they also pose significant fire hazards if not managed with adequate safety measures.