Quick answers
Should I use the lift during a fire in a high-rise building?
No. Never use lifts during a fire. Lifts without fire ratings can trap residents, so use the stair routes.
What should residents of a high-rise building know before a fire?
Know your building's refuge area and stair routes, check that hydrants are marked and working, test alarms and emergency lighting regularly, and save the local fire control room number as well as 101.
Why do high-rise fires often kill through smoke rather than flames?
Smoke can spread through vertical shafts, and false ceilings and sealed shafts can trap it, creating deadly smoke traps when alarms or hydrants do not work.
What common safety failures are found in high-rise buildings?
Fire NOCs issued without physical inspection, lifts without fire ratings, water tanks disconnected or used for other purposes, skipped drills and equipment checks, and refuge areas converted to other uses.
India has no official national count of its high-rise buildings, or of how many of them meet fire and evacuation norms. What is recorded is this: in 2024, 3,555 people died in fires in homes and 249 in commercial buildings.
(Source: NCRB, Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024.)
Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Surat, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are all growing upwards. A 20-storey tower can hold more people than a small village. When a fire starts on the 18th floor, those people depend on things most of them never look at: the staircase, the fire doors, the hydrant on their landing, the fire pump in the basement and the alarm. If any of these has been neglected, height turns a small fire into a trap.
Where fire deaths happen (NCRB, 2024)
| Place of fire | Fire accidents | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Residential or dwelling buildings | 3,585 | 3,555 |
| Commercial buildings | 277 | 249 |
| Government buildings | 21 | 4 |
| All places | 5,971 | 5,888 |
(Source: NCRB, Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024, Table 1.12.)
NCRB does not separate high-rise buildings, so there is no official national count of high-rise fires or deaths. These figures cover buildings of every height.
Case study: Kamla Building, Tardeo, Mumbai (2022)
- What happened: a fire broke out on the 18th floor of the ground-plus-20-storey Kamla Building in Tardeo, Mumbai, on the morning of 22 January 2022, and spread to the 19th floor.
- Result: seven people died and 16 were injured, as reported that day.
- Issue: some residents said the building’s power went off after the fire started, and people were trapped on the upper floors.
- Lesson: in a tall building, it is often smoke and failed systems that kill, not the flames. Alarms, fire doors, pumps and emergency lighting must work on the day they are needed.
Key requirements under the National Building Code 2016
| Requirement (NBC 2016, Part 4) | What to check in your building |
|---|---|
| Exits and staircases of the required width | Staircases are not encroached or used for storage |
| Refuge areas in tall buildings | The refuge area is open and has not been converted to other use |
| Smoke detection and sprinklers | Detectors and sprinklers are maintained and switched on |
| Fire lifts | The fire lift is present and working |
| Fire tender access | The access road is kept clear for fire engines |
(Requirements as set out in the National Building Code of India 2016, Part 4, Fire and Life Safety. Updated 28 October 2026: a Bureau of Indian Standards notification in the Gazette of India dated 30 April 2026 establishes SP 7:2026 (National Building Construction Standards 2026) and withdraws SP 7:2016, the National Building Code of India 2016. Our guide to fire safety laws in India covers the change; read the rest of this page with it in mind. NBC is a model code; locally adopted bye-laws and state Fire Acts govern.)
What goes wrong
- Fire NOCs that do not reflect reality. A building may have passed inspection once, but the system has since been switched off, damaged or altered.
- Ordinary lifts used in a fire. Normal lifts can stop between floors or open onto a smoke-filled landing.
- Fire water tanks disconnected or drawn down for daily use, leaving nothing for the hydrants.
- No drills and no equipment checks. Residents have never walked the staircase, and nobody has tested the pump.
- Smoke paths left open. Fire doors wedged open, gaps in shafts and false ceilings let smoke race up through the building.
What would make high-rises safer
- Regular fire audits by qualified, independent agencies, with defects actually fixed.
- Fire NOC renewal linked to real inspection, as required under the state’s Fire Act.
- Working alarm and smoke control systems, maintained under a proper contract.
- Refuge floors kept open and never converted to flats, offices or storage.
- Resident evacuation drills at least twice a year.
- Penalties for builders and societies that switch off systems or fake compliance.
- Completion certificates linked to actual fire system tests, not just drawings.
Checklist for residents
- Know where your building’s refuge area is and walk both staircases at least once.
- Never use the lift during a fire.
- Check that the hose reel and hydrant valve on your floor are not locked away or blocked.
- Ask the society when the fire pump, alarm and emergency lights were last tested.
- Keep fire doors on the staircase closed. They are there to stop smoke.
- Save your local fire station or fire control room number as well as 101 and 112.
If there is a fire in your building
- Raise the alarm and leave by the staircase. Close your flat door behind you.
- If the staircase is full of smoke, go back inside, close the door, seal the gaps with wet towels and call 101 or 112. Go to a window or balcony so firefighters can see you.
- If you are above the fire and cannot go down, go to the refuge area.
- Stay low under smoke and never go back in for belongings.
Ask one question at your next society meeting
“When was our last fire drill, and when was the fire pump last tested?” If nobody knows the answer, that is your answer. Height should not decide who survives.
To see how your own society does against norms like these, use our housing society fire safety score. It is a self-check, not a fire audit or a fire NOC.
References
- Bureau of Indian Standards, National Building Code of India 2016, Part 4, Fire and Life Safety
- NCRB, Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024, Table 1.12 (ncrb.gov.in)
What needs attention
- No official data shows how many Indian high-rises meet fire and evacuation norms
- At the Kamla Building fire, residents on upper floors were trapped and seven people died
- In tall buildings, smoke and failed systems often kill more than the flames
- A fire NOC shows the building passed once; it does not prove the systems work today
- Refuge areas, fire doors and fire water tanks are often misused or neglected
Controls that reduce risk
- Get a regular fire audit by a qualified, independent agency and fix the defects
- Keep refuge areas open and staircases clear
- Test the fire pump, alarm and emergency lighting on a schedule
- Hold resident evacuation drills at least twice a year
- Keep fire doors closed and fire tender access roads clear
- Renew the fire NOC on time as your state's Fire Act requires
Common unsafe practices
- Using the lift during a fire
- Wedging staircase fire doors open
- Using staircases and refuge areas for storage
- Drawing down fire water tanks for daily use
- Switching off alarms or sprinklers after false alarms
- Never holding a drill or testing the fire pump
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