Trapped in flames : Public fire safety ratings are needed

THE 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire in Delhi killed 59 people who were trapped behind locked exits and failed safety systems. The tragedy exposed negligence, corruption and weak enforcement. Nearly three decades later, the Romeo Lane blaze in Goa tells the same story, with expired fire certificates, blocked exits and ignored safety audits.According to NCRB data, India records between 10,000 and 12,000 fire-related deaths every year. Independent research indicates the actual figure is nearly 20 times higher than police records (Sanghavi, et al), suggesting widespread underreporting. India contributes almost 20 per cent of global fire-related deaths, making it one of the most dangerous countries for fire safety failures.While domestic accidents dominate overall numbers, 7 to 9 per cent of incidents occur in commercial spaces, such as cinemas, clubs and hotels, yet these account for a disproportionately high share of fatalities due to locked exits, overcrowding and failed evacuation systems (Karmakar et al).Official data reveals that India's fire safety enforcement exists largely on paper. In Ahmedabad, government filings before the high court showed that over 46 per cent of the buildings operating as malls, hospitals and theatres had no valid Fire Safety NOC. In Nagpur, a 2024 audit found that only 12 per cent of industrial units maintained compliance after certification. Nationally, many states still treat the National Building Code's safety provisions as recommendations rather than binding rules. A 2018 joint study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and risk management firm Pinkerton found that urban India has less than 40 per cent of the fire stations actually required.Across India's commercial spaces, fire safety audits are often ignored, falsified or treated as mere formalities. A study of 63 institutional and commercial buildings found that 72 per cent of the audits were falsified or incomplete and 42 per cent of the fires between 2014 and 2022 were linked to ignored audit recommendations (Grover et al, 2023). Another analysis showed that 15-18 per cent of major urban fire deaths occurred in malls, hotels, and offices, where fire NOC renewals were outdated by three to six years, and 93 per cent of the surveyed buildings in Mumbai had never undergone the required five-year external audit (Kannan et al, 2023). The NDMA's 2023 Fire Audit Report revealed that only 12 of the 36 states submit audit data and fewer than 30 per cent of the two lakh commercial buildings have valid safety certificates, with over 5,000 fake or expired NOCs uncovered through CAG reviews. The CAG (2022) further noted that most state fire departments lack digital systems, manpower and third-party validation. Together, these findings show that India's fire audits lack preventive safeguards.Several countries have shown that when safety compliance becomes transparent, lives are saved. In Singapore, the introduction of a public Building Safety and Quality Mark system and an online registry of fire compliance records led to a 38 per cent fall in major fire incidents and a 42 per cent decline in violations after reporting began (BCA Report). In Japan, mandatory public display of fire safety certificates in hotels, clubs and public venues, along with digital access through the Tokyo Fire Department's portal, helped bring fire-related deaths down by nearly half (FDMA Report). The UK, after the Grenfell Tower reforms, launched the Building Safety Act, requiring open publication of safety audits for high-risk buildings, and recorded a 15 per cent decline in fire fatalities (UK Home Office). In the US, a transparent national reporting system run by the FEMA and the US Fire Administration reduced fire death rates by over 60 per cent since regular public reporting began. Each of these cases proves that transparency in safety standards directly leads to accountability, compliance and measurable reductions in loss of life.In contrast, India's fire-related deaths have shown little decline, with many experts noting that the actual number may be far higher. While other nations have reduced fire deaths through transparency and public disclosure, India's numbers continue to stagnate or rise.India urgently needs a National Public Safety Rating System, a digital and government-verified platform that publicly displays the fire safety status of every public venue, including cinemas, malls, hospitals and clubs. The rating should follow pre-designed safety criteria and be expressed through a five-star scale, where more stars reflect higher safety and full compliance. Each establishment should carry a QR or barcode linked to a central government dashboard so that citizens can instantly check its safety rating, recent audit record and pending violations. This should become part of every citizen's right to information before entering a public space, not after a tragedy occurs.The system should operate from top down, beginning with large corporations and high-capacity establishments before extending to smaller businesses. The NDMA and state fire departments should jointly oversee this initiative through a Digital Safety Score framework, ensuring mandatory annual online audits and publicly accessible compliance records. A crowdsourced grievance platform would allow citizens to flag unsafe spaces in real time while integration with existing e-governance dashboards, similar to the Swachh Bharat or energy rating models, would make safety a visible, measurable civic standard to empower every visitor to make an informed choice before entering a public space.Such a transparent and technology-driven system would make enforcement simpler, reduce corruption and build a continuous chain of compliance where government responsibility flows downward and public awareness moves upward.Most victims of fire disasters in India are poor who work in unsafe premises or ordinary citizens and visitors who enter these places unaware of their safety risks. Those responsible are often wealth-flaunting individuals, businesspersons or people in positions of authority, whose failure is a serious act of omission, often shielded by privilege. This reveals an unhealthy socio-economic divide, showing how protection and punishment are unequally distributed. When accountability follows, it is middle-level managers or junior officials who are arrested, while those who approved, ignored, or profited from the violations get the time and means to plan their legal or physical escape. Those who die, those who are arrested, and those who escape accountability all end up on the wrong side of justice.

Trapped in flames : Public fire safety ratings are needed

It is junior officials who are arrested, while those who approved, ignored or profited from the violations get the means to escape.

Sharad S Chauhan

Trapped in flames : Public fire safety ratings are needed

It is junior officials who are arrested, while those who approved, ignored or profited from the violations get the means to escape.

Sharad S Chauhan

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