FIRE ACCIDENTS KILLED 35 PEOPLE ON AN AVERAGE EVERY DAY BETWEEN 2016 AND 2020

A fire broke out in a supermarket in Powai area of Mumbai on Thursday morning, a civic official said. There was no report of any casualty, he said. While the city was under the influence of torrential rains with flooding and road blockades in several parts of the city, this is an added pain heaped upon the Mumbaiites in that particular location. The blaze was reported in the Haiko Supermarket on the main street of Hiranandani locality in Powai at around 6.15 am, he said. 12 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

It is a little disturbing to note that fire-related accidents have, on average, killed 35 people every day in the five years between 2016 and 2020, according to a report by Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI), maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau. This should be a wakeup call for those who believe that fire safety and protocols are not important and those who believe fire accidents are rare and only happen to others.

The number of people injured in fire accidents has been fluctuating. The year 2017 saw the lowest number of fire-related deaths (348) during the period but the number rose by 123% to 777 in 2018, but has been on a downward trend ever since.

Maharashtra, which contributes the highest to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), also saw the highest number of accidental fires. With 9,344 incidents over the last five years.