Enforcement gaps in implementing fire safety rules put 3M lives at risk

Bhopal: While the inferno at a South Delhi hotel that claimed 21 lives and the blaze at a ground-floor EV showroom in Indore on Friday came as chilling fallouts of lax fire safety, the fire risk in the state capital, Bhopal, stems less from missing regulations than weak enforcement and oversight, officials and inspectors said.

Narrow lanes choked by encroachments, road diversions and even BMC‑authorised parking routinely prevent fire engines from reaching blazes.

A timber‑market fire near Bhopal railway station, a day after Christmas last year, burned for hours despite more than 100 water tankers being deployed. The market had also caught fire in November.

In March, a chemical‑factory blaze in Govindpura forced evacuation of nearby slums after tankers were delayed by constricted approach roads and parked heavy vehicles, responders said the first engines took nearly 25 minutes to reach the site. Last month, during Fire Safety Week, an inspection found staff at a government hospital unable to operate basic fire extinguishers.

“There’s no coordination between agencies. When road repairs or construction cause diversions, the fire department must be duly informed so that we can plan alternate access,” said BMC fire‑safety officer Saurabh Jain.

With much of the state capital now undergoing Metro construction and road widening, what plans are in place to ensure fire‑emergency vehicles can still move freely, asked experts.

A fire inspector, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TOI, “Blocked access is our single biggest operational obstacle. Losing 10–20 minutes negotiating obstructions can cost lives.”

Despite these warnings, a month after Fire Safety Week for health facilities neither the BMC nor the health department has publicly addressed the inspection findings.