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A pizza outlet in a building in Ghatkopar (Mumbai) saw a deadly fire accident on 17th December which claimed one life and inflicted injuries to 11 people on first count. 4 policemen were among the injured and 46-year-old Qurshi Dedhia died in the tragic accident. The blaze in Juno's Pizza restaurant located in Vishwas building was so severe that 22 patients from the Parakh Hospital nearby, including one who was in an operation theatre, had to be shifted to a nearby facility. Eight fire tenders were despatched to the location to control the fire. 18-year-old Taniya Kamble sustained 20 per cent burn injuries, while Kulsum Shaikh, 20, suffered from suffocation due to the fire.

Less than a week earlier, a fire had broken out in the storeroom of Kherwadi police station in Mumbai's Bandra area. An Assistant Sub Inspector got seriously injured while trying to extinguish the fire and had to be admitted to a nearby hospital, officials at the Mumbai Fire Brigade said. Thankfully, his condition was stable soon after.

Those who think these are isolated incidents may be in denial or ignorance of the statistics that continue to show that fires are commonplace and are happening in a matter of minutes somewhere or the other in the country. They also show that in majority cases, even basic fire safety tools and escape route emergency lights and signages are either totally absent or inadequate.

There needs to be some real action taken at grassroots with the help of NGO’s, social service groups and fire safety personnel to educate and inform common people of the deadly threat they are in and how to be prepared to deal with unexpected fire emergencies.