Fire accidents since Independence – A timeline
Seven newborns died and 12 were rescued following a fire that took place at the Baby Care New Born Hospital, a children’s hospital in east
Seven newborns died and 12 were rescued following a fire that took place at the Baby Care New Born Hospital, a children’s hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar on May 26. Just a day before, a massive fire broke out at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, claiming the lives of 33 people, including nine children below the age of 16. We looked into The Hindu’s archives and found that fire accidents across the country have caused extensive loss of life and property over the years. While there are existing laws and rules regarding fire safety, the problem lies in enforcement. Also read | Preparing for fires Here’s a timeline of some major fire accidents over the past seven decades Madurai, Tamil Nadu, April 4, 1964: 36 persons, including 35 girls were killed and 139 injured seriously at the Saraswathi Vidyasala Higher Elementary School, Maninagaram, Madurai. The superstructure of the two-storeyed building, which was constructed out of brick and mortar on the granite compound wall of a tomb, collapsed. Though town planning authorities had refused permission to build the school, the construction went ahead without following even basic principles of engineering and safety measures. Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, July 29, 1979: 46 adults and 32 children were killed in a fire accident in a touring cinema at Lourdammalpuram, Tuticorin, of whom 73 died on the spot and five succumbed to injuries in hospital; 88 people were injured. The fire broke out around 4.30 p.m. when the matinee show was on. The thatch-roofed cinema with wooden poles and rafters was reduced to ashes. The fire broke out in the women’s enclosure, and most of the victims were women and children from a fishing community. Despite a Tamil Nadu government notification in December 1976 calling for the installation of fire extinguishers in all cinema halls, it was resisted by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce and the Tamil Nadu Exhibitors’ Association on the grounds of the high cost. The government relented and reduced in February 1978 the extra number of extinguishers it wanted to be installed. Bangalore, Karnataka, February 7, 1981: 92 people were killed in a fire, 56 of them children, and 300 injured when a fire broke out in the Venus Circus near the city railway station in Bangalore. A special show for schoolchildren was taking place, and the flying trapeze artists were performing when the burning roof of the Venus Circus collapsed, setting off a stamped; over 4,000 people were in the tent at the time. There are differing versions as to how the fire was started, one theory was that it was caused by sparks from high tension wires at the site that fell on the tarpaulin-roofed tent. Another theory was that it was started by a carelessly thrown cigarette butt; the police and circus management both believed that it may have started from a cooking stove that was used to cook the dogs’ food and because of the wind, the fire from the stove could have ignited the tent. 22 fire units battled with the raging flames for nearly two hours before it was brought under control. The Gundu Rao government ordered a judicial enquiry into the incident. Dabwali, Haryana, December 23, 1995: Over 500 people were killed, mostly children and their parents and over 300 were injured at Rajiv Marriage Palace, a private marriage hall in Dabwali in Sirsa district, Haryana. It was being used for the Annual Day Function of the DAV School. The fire was caused by an electric malfunction and spread as the pandal was covered with a synthetic sheet. A stampede took place too, as there was a small exit gate, causing the high casualties. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal subsequently issued instructions that it be made mandatory for buildings holding such functions to have at least four gates, one on each side, so that people could escape in case of an emergency. Baripada, Orissa, February 23, 1997: 176 persons, including 26 children and 4 women, were burnt to death; of these, 149 died on the spot and 27 succumbed to injuries later; 500 were seriously injured in a fire accident at Madhuban locality of Baripada, 275 km from Bhubaneswar. A large number of devotees of Swami Nigamananda had gathered for a three-day State-level religious conference. As many as 5,400 delegates, many of them from neighbouring States and Delhi, had registered along with families. The fire started from one of the temporary sheds constructed for the devotees when most of them were resting after lunch.
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