Hyderabad faces serious fire safety crisis due to 50% increase in incidents and acute shortage of fire stations

Hyderabad: There has been an alarming 50% increase in fire accidents in the city over the last three years, from 1,711 in 2023 to 2,633 in 2025, yet Hyderabad has only 20% of the fire stations required under central norms. Due to this reduction, the response time has increased to an average of 20 to 30 minutes, which is six times more than the prescribed limit of five minutes.As per the recommendations of the Permanent Fire Advisory Council under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), there should be at least one fire station for every 10 sq km in urban areas. However, despite the urban expansion in Hyderabad almost tripling to about 2,000 sq km, the three municipal corporations (Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri) collectively operate only about 40 fire stations. Actually, there are around 150 fire stations across Telangana.

Types of premises

fatal outcome

Based on MoHA guidelines, there is a requirement of 200 (approximately) fire stations in Hyderabad metropolitan area alone. The consequences of this infrastructure gap were clearly felt during the massive fire that broke out at the Sigachi industrial unit on June 30, 2025, which claimed more than 50 lives. It is said that the first fire tender reached the accident site from Patancheru in about 30 minutes after traveling a distance of about 14 km. This was the nearest available station to the unit.In another incident reported in November last year, a man was burnt to death inside his car on the Outer Ring Road near Shamirpet, even though the fire tender arrived about 30 – 45 minutes later. It was to be flagged off from Cherlapally, about 20 km away.Nevertheless, large sections remain unserved along the ORR. At many places, the nearest fire stations are more than 10 km away, requiring tenders to take at least 15 minutes to reach the accident site. The existing stations serving the ORR corridor are at Gachibowli, Shameerpet, Kukatpally, Rajendranagar, Hayatnagar, Patancheru, Jeedimetla, Madhapur and Maheshwaram.Even in emerging areas like Kokapet, Tellapur, Kollur, Kompally and parts of Shamshabad, the situation is almost the same. Although each of these areas has seen a proliferation of gated communities, office complexes and educational institutions, they lack a network of fire stations, with the nearest location being at least 15 km (30 – 40 minutes) away from any location.

District wise fire in 2026

Apart from inadequate infrastructure, fire officials claim that acquiring land for new stations is an additional layer of challenge. According to him, rising land prices and ownership disputes have made it difficult to identify strategic sites and secure land in rapidly developing areas.

land acquisition challenge

Experts have urged the state government to conduct a comprehensive assessment of fire-prone areas and densely populated areas across Hyderabad to identify infrastructure deficiencies and prioritize the establishment of new fire stations. He stressed that expansion of fire services would require substantial investment in land, fire fighting equipment, emergency vehicles and trained personnel.Telangana Fire Service Narayana Director GV Narayana Rao said that to strengthen the fire fighting capabilities, the department has ordered Bronto Skylift from Finland, a fire fighting platform capable of extinguishing fires at heights of up to 104 metres.

GV Narayan Rao

Want exclusive corridor

“The government should create a dedicated emergency response mechanism on city roads. Whenever a fire emergency is reported, the traffic authorities should immediately facilitate a clear emergency corridor exclusively for fire tenders and rescue vehicles, enabling them to reach the incident site in the shortest possible time. Such systems can significantly reduce response times and help save lives,” said fire safety auditor C Andrew.The pressure on fire services is not limited to infrastructure alone. Parallel enforcement data shows that a large number of establishments across Telangana are violating mandatory fire safety norms, increasing the risk scenario.

40% units across Telangana violate fire safety norms

Despite regular awareness campaigns and enforcement efforts by the fire department, nearly 40% of the units inspected across the state this year were found violating safety norms.Fire incidents have increased by 30% in Telangana this year compared to 2025, the department has conducted 6,137 fire safety inspections and awareness campaigns in schools, hospitals, apartments, hotels, industries and other public establishments so far this year as a part of a 99-day action plan.According to officials, the inspection covered 1,439 schools, 1,708 hospitals, 654 apartment buildings, 501 hotels, 326 public places including bus stands and railway facilities and 1,509 industries and warehouses. The findings revealed widespread non-compliance with mandatory fire safety measures, raising concerns over the ability of many establishments to respond effectively during emergencies.Common violations include blocked or closed emergency exits, encroached basement areas, inadequate stair access, expired fire extinguishers, non-functional sprinkler systems and poor maintenance of fire detection and alarm networks. Inspection teams also assessed water storage facilities and drainage systems, including emergency stairs and lifts.Officials said the violations occurred in various areas. “In a private school, emergency exit doors were found closed during working hours and several fire extinguishers had expired. In an industrial unit, the sprinkler system was non-functional and flammable materials were stored on evacuation routes, posing a serious fire hazard. Notices have been issued to establishments violating the norms and corrective measures have been mandated,” said a senior fire official.Data from the Telangana State Fire and Rescue Repository shows that since 2012, the department has responded to 53,392 calls. During this period, more than 200 people lost their lives and property worth Rs 4,732.42 crore was damaged.Among all the districts, Hyderabad recorded the highest number of fire and rescue calls at 7,564, followed by Nalgonda (3,557), Rangareddy (3,538), Medchal-Malkajgiri (3,533) and Khammam (3,433).