Trend summary
- India’s overall fire toll is falling: NCRB counted 5,971 fire accidents and 5,888 deaths in 2024, with cases down 15.4% on 2023.
- Fires outside the home went the other way. Commercial buildings, factories, schools and government buildings saw 458 fires and 450 deaths in 2024, against 432 and 432 the year before.
- Units handling combustible material, including firecracker and match factories, had only 66 fires but 107 of the 330 people injured in all fire accidents in 2024.
- Hospitals, hotels and crowded venues keep making headlines: a Jhansi neonatal unit in 2024, a Goa nightclub in 2025 and two hotel blazes in Delhi and Kolkata in 2026.
What the numbers show
The National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024 recorded 5,971 fire accidents, 330 people injured and 5,888 deaths. Cases fell 15.4% from 7,054 in 2023, and deaths fell from 6,891. Homes still dominate: residential and dwelling buildings accounted for 3,555 deaths, or 60.4% of the total (NCRB ADSI 2024; NCRB ADSI 2023).
The picture is different for other buildings. In 2024 NCRB logged 277 fires and 249 deaths in commercial buildings, 66 fires and 91 deaths in factories making combustible material (including cracker and match units), 83 fires and 97 deaths in other factories, 11 fires and 9 deaths in schools, and 21 fires and 4 deaths in government buildings. Together that is 458 fires and 450 deaths, up from 432 fires and 432 deaths in 2023, when commercial buildings recorded 241 deaths and the two factory groups 179 (NCRB ADSI 2024, Table 1.12).
Two caveats matter. NCRB has no separate hospital or hotel category, and 1,783 fires with 1,761 deaths sit under “Others”, so the non-home figures are a floor rather than a full count. Maharashtra reported the most fire accidents of any state in 2024, with 625 cases, or 10.5% of the national total (NCRB ADSI 2024).
What is driving it
Electrical faults come up again and again in official warnings. In May 2021 the Ministry of Home Affairs told states that recent hospital and nursing-home fires had been caused by short-circuiting, linked to high temperatures, poor maintenance and heavy load on internal wiring (MHA, May 2021). In June 2024 the Health Ministry again blamed short circuits from poorly maintained, overloaded lines, largely from air conditioners (MoHFW, June 2024). Police attributed the November 2024 Jhansi neonatal unit fire, which killed at least 10 newborns, to a short circuit (NHRC).
Missing permits and weak enforcement are the other thread. The Rajkot game zone that burned in May 2024, killing 27, was operating without a fire No Objection Certificate, and the Gujarat High Court called it a prima facie “man-made disaster” (Business Standard). The policy response has centred on hospitals: a joint Health Ministry and NDMA advisory in March 2024 set monthly extinguisher checks, twice-yearly electrical load audits and annual fire NOC renewal (PIB), and in May 2026 the ministry released National Guidelines on Fire and Life Safety in Healthcare Facilities with tighter rules for ICUs and neonatal units (PIB).
Recent cases
- 19 August 2026: A fire in a Kolkata building housing several hotels killed at least nine people, including a child, and injured six; some victims were believed to be Bangladeshi nationals in the city for medical treatment (Euronews).
- 3 June 2026: A fire in a mixed-use building with a restaurant on the ground floor and a hotel above, in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, killed at least 21 people, 18 of them foreign nationals (Al Jazeera).
- 19 April 2026: A fire at a licensed firecracker factory in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, killed at least 20 workers and injured six (AFP via The Daily Star).
Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026
Up to five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from Government of India ministries through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), national agencies such as NCRB, the Reserve Bank of India and the National Center for Seismology, and state governments; a few news reports and data analyses are included where they are the clearest public record of an event. Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.
2026
- 3 Jun 2026Vice President's SecretariatVice President Expresses Grief Over Loss of Lives in Malviya Nagar Fire Incident
- 4 May 2026Ministry of Health and Family WelfareUnion Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Launches Nationwide Fire Safety Week (4–10 May 2026)
- 19 Apr 2026Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister expresses grief over mishap in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu
- 1 Mar 2026Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister expresses grief over loss of lives in factory explosion in Nagpur, Maharashtra
2025
- 7 Dec 2025Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles loss of lives in fire mishap in Arpora, Goa
- 6 Oct 2025Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan
- 30 Jun 2025Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a factory in Sangareddy, Telangana
- 18 May 2025Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles loss of lives due to fire tragedy in Solapur, Maharashtra
- 1 Apr 2025Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles the loss of lives in the explosion at a firecracker factory in Banaskantha, Gujarat
2024
- 16 Nov 2024National Human Rights CommissionNHRC takes suo motu cognizance of the reported fire in the Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh resulting in the death of 10 babies
- 16 Nov 2024Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister condoles the loss of lives in fire accident in Jhansi medical college
- 3 Jun 2024Ministry of Health and Family WelfareUnion Health Ministry reiterates the need for adhering to strict compliance of regulatory protocols and fire-safety norms in meeting with States/UTs and Healthcare Organizations
- 27 May 2024Business StandardRajkot game zone fire: What led to the 'man-made disaster' that killed 27?
- 23 Mar 2024Ministry of Health and Family WelfareAs temperatures escalate, Union Health Ministry and NDMA Issue Joint-Advisory to States on measures to prevent Hospital Fires during Summer months
2023
- 29 Jul 2023Prime Minister's OfficePM condoles deaths in mishap at a cracker factory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu
View 20 years of major Indian building fire press releases (2007–2026)13 more from 2007–2022, up to five a year, newest first
2021
- 5 May 2021Ministry of Home AffairsMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA) Draws Attention of States & UTs on Need to Have Plan of Action to Ensure Fire Incidents Do Not Occur in Health Facilities, Particularly COVID-19 Facilities
- 12 Feb 2021Prime Minister's OfficePM expresses grief over fire at firecracker factory in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu; approves ex-gratia for the victims
- 11 Jan 2021Prime Minister's OfficePM approves an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to hospital fire in Maharashtra
2019
- 8 Dec 2019Prime Minister's OfficePM condoles loss of lives in fire at Delhi’s Anaj Mandi
- 26 May 2019Zee NewsSurat fire tragedy death toll touches 22; NHRC issues notice to Gujarat government
- 25 May 2019ANISurat fire: 20 killed; fire brigade arrives late, claim witnesses
- 12 Feb 2019Prime Minister's OfficePM condoles the loss of lives in a fire at Karol Bagh in Delhi.
2016
- 18 Nov 2016Ministry of Health and Family WelfareFire Safety in Hospitals
- Feb 2016National Disaster Management AuthorityGuidelines on Hospital Safety
2012
- Apr 2012National Disaster Management AuthorityGuidelines on Scaling, Type of Equipment and Training of Fire Services
2011
- 17 Dec 2011Ministry of Home AffairsNDMA to Prepare Guidelines for Hospital Safety
2007
- Oct 2007National Disaster Management AuthorityGuidelines on Medical Preparedness and Mass Casualty Management
- Apr 2007National Disaster Management AuthorityGuidelines on Chemical Disasters
Many years list fewer than five items, and some have none yet. Older Government of India releases are hard to find at their original addresses, and we only list items we could open and check. We are still adding to these lists. Where a page shows no date, the date comes from the release address or the publisher’s own index.
Photo list
How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. Many Indian statistics are compiled state by state and published a year or two late (NCRB’s accident report for 2024 came out in 2026), so we say which year each figure covers. Large numbers are written in international form, with lakh (100,000) and crore (10 million) in brackets where Indian sources use them. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.