There is Still a Fire!

Residential fires account for 58 per cent of all fires, while fire related deaths are over 10,000 annually in India! The overall deficiency in the country in number of Fire Stations is 97.54%, in fire-fighting & rescue vehicles 80.04% and in fire personnel is 96.28%, respectively. (NDMA Guideline, 2012, CR SFAC, 2011). We are woefully deficient as a nation toward fire preparedness. 

It’s clear the citizen has to take charge. 

BEYOND CARLTON is committed to Scripting Citizen Fire Safety 101. We are plugging away toward our vision –  zero loss of life due to fire.  That’s a mighty task! Our eleven-year effort has carved a niche in India’s citizen fire safety map. The impact of successful advocacy by BEYOND CARLTON has led the Karnataka State Government to declare 23rd February (the date of the Carlton Fire accident), as Fire Awareness and Prevention Day across the State. It has helped create a large platform for visibility, and created an opportunity to build fire safety awareness amongst communities, schools, hospitals and others.

Our aim is to reach every home with the fire prevention message. The B-FIRE SAFE program is designed for this purpose. It is also important we encourage youth participation to bring fresh perspective and newer ideas for action on citizen fire safety. Our interns from the National Fire Service College, Nagpur, underscored the lack of recorded fire related data. Their study on How Fire-safe is New Delhi gives some pointers on what more needs to be done. We continue to build on national and international partnerships to strengthen our reach, learning, and impact. A lot more needs to be done on the fire-front.  Meanwhile, we hope where there is a fire, there is a prepared citizen.