Delhi: With the recent tragedy in Malviya Nagar, where an unpredictable fire broke out on a Wednesday morning, fire accidents have been perpetuating in Delhi for a long time, regularly setting grim precedents. The June 3rd black day joins a long list of disastrous fire casualties reported in Delhi. Here is a look back at previous mishaps from the last eight years:
28 May 2026: Dhanendra Kumar, the first chairman of the Competition Commission of India, fell victim to an equipment default at his residence. An unexpected fire erupted from an air-conditioner in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas area, and the 80-year-old Kumar died of smoke inhalation.
3 May 2026: A fire at a residential complex in Vivek Vihar in east Delhi took nine lives and injured four. The cause was suspected to be an AC unit short circuit in the middle of the night.
18 March 2026: Nine people lost their lives and three were injured in a fire at a shop on the ground floor of a residential building in south-west Delhi’s Palam. A short circuit was suspected.
24 June 2025: Four people died in a fire at a chemical factory in north-west Delhi’s Rithala in the Rohini area. The five-storey building stored chemicals on the ground floor, which accelerated the fire. There were no emergency exits.
14 March 2024: In another incident in east Delhi’s Shahdara, four people died in a fire inside a residential building.
15 February 2024: Eleven people were killed at a paint factory in north Delhi’s Alipur as a fire spread following a chemical explosion. Workers were trapped because the building lacked proper exits. The fire later spread to a drug rehabilitation centre before it could be brought under control.
13 May 2022: A fire in a four-storey commercial building near the Mundka metro station in west Delhi killed 27 people. Caused by a short circuit, the situation was made worse due to a total lack of fire exits or fire extinguishers. The fire took over nine hours to douse.
23 December 2019: Nine people were killed in a fire at a cloth godown in north-west Delhi’s Kirari. Here too, the cause was a short circuit.
8 December 2019: Delhi’s worst fire in the 21st century occurred at Anaj Mandi in north Delhi, where 47 people were killed and 56 were injured. It started with a short circuit in an illegal shoe and schoolbag-making factory. Iron grilles prevented the escape of over 100 migrant workers who were sleeping inside.
12 February 2019: Seventeen people died in a fire at Hotel Arpit Palace in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh. The fire started in a rooftop kitchen that was operating illegally.
20 January 2018: Another 17 people were killed in a fire at a firecracker factory in north-west Delhi’s Bawana.
With most of these fires erupting from short circuits, it reveals how the capital is neglecting a proper prevention system for fire accidents. The streets in parts of Old Delhi see unprotected, swinging, and entangled wires almost as an aesthetic element, completely ignoring the fact that this state of affairs is highly risky and vulnerable.