As Delhi grapples with another deadly fire tragedy, past incidents – most notably a massive fire in a four-storey building in Palam Colony in March that killed nine people – show a familiar pattern: investigations announced, officials promising accountability, but little change on the ground.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rekha Gupta sought a detailed report from the South Delhi district magistrate on the Houzz Rani B&B fire that killed at least 21 people. It warned of taking strict measures against anyone found responsible.
However, this announcement reflects the responses following several major disasters in the capital over the years.
The latest example came after a fire that broke out on March 18 in a commercial-residential building in Palam Colony in southwest Delhi. The fire killed nine members of one family, including three children. Within two hours, the Delhi government ordered a judicial inquiry and sought a report within 48 hours.
But months later, the investigation report has not yet been published. Officials familiar with the matter said the deadline had been extended several times.
The Palam fire was one of the deadliest incidents in the city this year before the Hauz Rani tragedy. Another major fire on May 3 in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area killed nine people in a multi-storey residential building.
Delhi’s recent history is littered with similar disasters, many of which revealed blatant safety violations, blocked exits, and poor law enforcement.
The deadliest fire remains the Ovar Cinema fire in Green Park on 13 June 1997, which killed 59 people and injured more than 100 during a showing of the film Border. Investigations found that extra seats illegally installed and the closure of escape routes contributed to the high death toll. The tragedy sparked nationwide outrage and prompted calls for sweeping reforms in fire safety and building regulation.
Despite that defining moment, the deadly fires continued.
On 20 November 2011, at least 18 people were killed and more than 60 others injured after a major fire broke out in a crowded community center in East Delhi’s Nand Nagri area. An all-India gathering of eunuchs was underway at the community center when the fire broke out and quickly engulfed the entire building.
Seven years later, on March 22, 2018, a massive fire at a multi-storey factory in Delhi’s Bawana industrial area killed 17 people, including 10 women, and injured many others. A police investigation revealed that the three-storey building was registered as a plastics factory, but was being used illegally as a unit for packing and storing firecrackers.
A year later, on February 12, 2019, a massive fire broke out at the Arpet Hotel in Bawana, central Delhi, engulfing Karol Bagh and killing 17 people, including a child and a woman. The authorities blamed the building owners for violating building rules. On December 8, 2019, a devastating fire killed 43 people at an illegal factory in north Delhi’s busy Anaj Mandi area. Most of the deceased were migrant workers who were sleeping inside. Investigators highlighted overcrowding, blocked exits and serious fire safety violations.
On May 25, 2024, a fire broke out at a neonatal hospital in Vivek Vihar, killing seven newborns. The fire was first reported at 11.32pm, almost half an hour after it started. By then, the Delhi Fire Service reached Baby Care Nw Born Hospital, the building was flooded, and 12 newborns were trapped inside. All of them were rescued and shifted to the neonatal intensive care unit of nearby East Delhi Advanced. Six children were announced dead shortly after, while the seventh died a week later.
In May 2022, a massive fire in a multi-storey commercial building in Mundka outside Delhi killed 27 people and injured dozens. The building houses offices and manufacturing units, and many victims were trapped on the upper floors as fire spread quickly through the building while a seminar was being held.
