Karnataka: Home is where blaze is

Bengaluru: Most deaths in accidental fire incidents in Karnataka do not occur in factories, shopping complexes or public buildings. They take place inside homes.

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India between 2020 and 2024 show that residential buildings remained the deadliest location for fire accidents in Karnataka, mirroring a nationwide pattern where homes account for the overwhelming majority of fire-related deaths.

In the five-year period, Karnataka recorded 1,953 deaths in residential fires alone. During the same period, commercial building fires caused 58 deaths, while school building fires led to nine fatalities.

NCRB classifies fire accidents by place of occurrence, including schools, commercial buildings and residential areas. In 2024, Karnataka reported 302 residential fire accidents that killed 322 people. In comparison, commercial building fires killed six people, and school building fires resulted in eight deaths. The year before, residential fires claimed 418 lives in the state.

Karnataka mirrors the national trend.

Commercial building fires, by contrast, caused between 163 and 249 deaths nationally each year during the same period. Fatalities in school building fires remained in single digits across India through most years.

The data also points to another trend: women account for a large share of victims in residential fires. In 2024, residential fires in Karnataka killed 158 men and 164 women. In 2023, the toll stood at 226 men and 192 women.

Karnataka is among the states with high residential fire deaths. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka consistently featured among the states recording the highest number of residential fire deaths.

The report says electrical faults, LPG-related incidents, kitchen fires and densely packed residential structures continue to contribute significantly to fatalities, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas.

How flame is snuffing out lives at residences

Pan-India

Deaths year

■ 3,482: 2024

■ 3,696: 2023

■ 3,927: 2022

■ 4,192: 2021

■ 5,187: 2020

Karnataka

Death year

■ 322: 2024

■ 418: 2023

■ 333: 2022

■ 430: 2021

■ 450: 2020

Top five states in 2024

State Deaths

Tamil Nadu: 440

Maharashtra: 373

Karnataka: 322

Uttar Pradesh: 302

Madhya Pradesh: 263

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Govt needs to act: Beyond Carlton

Pointing out how every year, thousands of Indians die in fires inside their own homes, Beyond Carlton, a citizen-led fire safety organisation, has urged govts to “act before the fire!”

“New data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2024 reveals that 60.4% of all fire deaths in India — over 3,555 lives — were lost in residential buildings. Yet residential spaces remain almost entirely outside the reach of fire safety regulation,” Beyond Carlton said.

India needs a state-level fire safety blueprint that brings residential buildings under mandatory safety standards such as smoke alarms, evacuation plans, electrical compliance, and early warning systems that currently exist only in commercial and institutional spaces, it argues.

“Fire and life safety must enter everyday governance, not remain confined to post-tragedy inquiries. The data is damning. States like Karnataka (83%), Tamil Nadu (81.9%), and Jammu & Kashmir (88.9%) report residential fire death shares far above the national average. Women bear a disproportionate burden, particularly in kitchen, LPG, and domestic burn incidents,” Beyond Carlton said.