Hyderabad’s fire safety blind spot: City needs 200 fire stations, has only 40

HYDERABAD: Fire accidents in the city have risen by an alarming 50% in the past 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.

The shortfall has pushed response times to 20 to 30 minutes on average, up to six times the prescribed limit of five minutes.According to recommendations of the Standing Fire Advisory Council under the ministry of home affairs (MoHA), urban areas should have at least one fire station for every 10 sq km. In Hyderabad though, despite its urban sprawl expanding nearly threefold to around 2,000 sq km, the three municipal corporations (Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri) collectively operate only around 40 fire stations.

In fact, all of Telangana has around 150 fire stations.

Deadly consequences

Based on MoHA guidelines, the Hyderabad metropolitan region alone requires 200 (approx. ) fire stations. The consequences of this infrastructure gap were starkly felt during the massive fire at the Sigachi industrial unit on June 30, 2025 which claimed more than 50 lives. The first fire tender reportedly reached the accident site from Patancheru only after about 30 minutes, having travelled nearly 14 km.

This was the nearest available station for the unit.In another instance reported in November last year, a man was charred to death inside his car on the Outer Ring Road near Shamirpet even as the fire tender reached almost 30 - 45 minutes later. It had to be dispatched from Cherlapally, nearly 20 km away.Yet, large stretches along ORR remain underserved. In several locations, the nearest fire stations are over 10 km away, requiring tenders at least 15 minutes to reach an accident site.

Existing stations serving the ORR corridor are at Gachibowli, Shamirpet, Kukatpally, Rajendranagar, Hayathnagar, Patancheru, Jeedimetla, Madhapur and Maheshwaram.Even in emerging pockets such as Kokapet, Tellapur, Kollur, Kompally and parts of Shamshabad, the situation is much the same. While each of these areas have seen a proliferation of gated communities, office complexes and educational institutions, they lack a network of fire stations, the closest to any place being at least 15 km (30 - 40 mins) away.

Apart from inadequate infrastructure, fire officials claim that acquiring land for new stations poses an extra layer of challenge. According to them, identifying strategic sites and securing land in rapidly developing areas has become increasingly difficult due to escalating land prices and ownership disputes.

Land acquisition challenge

Experts have urged the state govt to undertake a comprehensive assessment of fire-prone zones and densely populated areas across Hyderabad to identify infrastructure gaps and prioritize the establishment of new fire stations.

They stressed that the expansion of fire services would require substantial investment in land, firefighting equipment, emergency vehicles and trained personnel.To strengthen firefighting capabilities, the department has ordered a Bronto Skylift from Finland, a firefighting platform capable of dousing fires at heights of up to 104 m, GV Narayana Rao, director, Telangana fire services Narayana said.

Need exclusive corridor

"The government must create a dedicated emergency response mechanism on city roads.

Whenever a fire emergency is reported, 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 a system could significantly reduce response times and help save lives," said C Andrew, a fire safety auditor.The strain on fire services is not limited to infrastructure alone.

Parallel enforcement data shows that a large number of establishments across Telangana continue to flout mandatory fire safety norms, adding to the growing risk landscape.

40% of units Across Telangana flout fire safety norms

Nearly 40% of units inspected across the state this year were found flouting safety norms, despite regular awareness drives and enforcement efforts by the fire department.With fires going up by 30% in Telangana this year compared to 2025, the department conducted 6,137 fire safety inspections and awareness drives across schools, hospitals, apartments, hotels, industries and other public establishments so far this year as a part of 99-day action plan.According to officials, the inspections 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 included blocked or locked emergency exits, encroached cellar areas, inadequate staircase access, expiredfire extinguishers, non-functional sprinkler systems and poor maintenance of fire detection and alarm networks. Inspection teams also assessed water storage facilities and evacuation arrangements, including emergency staircases and lifts.Officials said the violations cut across sectors. “In one private school, emergency exit doors were found locked during working hours and several fire extinguishers had expired.

In an industrial unit, the sprinkler system was non-functional and combustible materials were stored along evacuation routes, creating a serious fire hazard. Notices have been issued to establishments found violating norms and corrective measures have been mandated,” said a senior fire official.Data from Telangana State Fire & Rescue Repository shows that since 2012, the department has responded to 53,392 calls. During this period, as many as 200 lives were lost and property worth Rs 4,732.42 crore was lost.Among all 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).