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Fire accidents are basically of two kinds, those reported in press and media, and those not reported. Those reported, are actually the tip of the iceberg while the massive number of unreported fires are the iceberg itself. In December, three major fires were widely reported in mainstream media and press. This gives an indication of how regular, how common and how frequent fire accidents actually are and it’s a scary thought.

On December 5th, a massive fire broke out inside the kitchen area on the third floor of a hotel near Delhi's Karkardooma. The incident took place near the Karkardooma court.

A 15th December news report said that at least 22 people suffered burn injuries after a gas cylinder leak triggered a fire at a wedding venue in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh late on Wednesday night.

Laurus Labs announced that on 26th December 2022 a flash fire occurred in one of the rooms in a manufacturing block of its API manufacturing plant (Unit 3), Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, Parawada, Anakapally district, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 4 people were killed in the tragic blaze.

Two people died on 30^th December, in a horrific cylinder blast outside a private hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district. The explosion was so loud that it was reported that the people in the neighbourhood hid in their houses. The explosion shattered glasses in the hospital and houses nearby, and the two victims were badly mangled due to the impact of the blast.

The explosion, outside Dayal Hospital in the Ravi Nagar area of Mughalsarai city, happened between 9:00 am and 9:30 am while oxygen cylinders were being unloaded from a truck that was parked outside the hospital. 

Despite this being an open secret of sorts, basic fire safety drills, programs and seminars regularly conducted by fire brigade and similar NGO’s and disaster management bodies across India find very little public participation and support. Call it disinterest or apathy, this remains a major reason that even in urban locations where the educated elite live, fire accidents become killers and the story repeats itself over and over.

In the New Year 2023, let us pledge to look up, find and attend at least one local awareness initiative and do our little bit by educating ourselves on how to use fire safety equipment, how to seek quick support, how to save others and oneself if we fall victim to a fire accident and having done that, to communicate our new found wisdom to at least one other person.

If you must make a resolution, why not this?