HRVC Assessment of Urban Fire Hazard: A Case Study of Malviya Nagar, Delhi

The cities in India have the poorest fire safety records of any of the developing countries. Homes and public buildings are generally built and expended for requirements without considering the safety measures. Commercial outlets within the residential areas are common phenomena in urban areas of India. There is a critical need for awareness and urgent debate about the growing vulnerability of urban dwellers in the context of unregulated spatial growth and development. In last few years fire hazard became a major problem for urban dwellers in India and caused huge number of death, loss of property and environmental degradation. Delhi is also known as heavy fire-risk city because of its ever-growing population, unplanned construction, crowded places, high-rise buildings and commercial and industrial growth in NCR. The city is also known for ignoring the safety laws to favor the economic activities. The recent incident happened in Khirki Extension a crowded residential area of Malviya Nagar was one such example. In this context the study analyzed the spatial distribution of fire incident occurred in different areas of Delhi in last few years, their impacts on residents and causes which constitute and increase vulnerabilities. The study also suggested some measures to manage the fire in urban areas.