What happened here
1 / 2 A late-night fire in an old wooden mixed-use building spread through shops and homes and involved multiple LPG cylinders; the final reported toll reached 10.
Quick answers
What happened in the Arki market fire in Himachal Pradesh?
A late-night fire broke out in an old wooden mixed-use building in Arki market, Solan district, where families lived above shops. It spread through connected shops and homes after multiple LPG cylinder explosions, and the final reported toll reached 10.
What is known about how the Arki fire started?
Officials have not announced the cause; the Solan administration ordered a magisterial inquiry and police registered an FIR under BNS Section 287. The fire grew after at least six LPG cylinders stored in the building exploded.
Why did the Arki fire become so deadly?
Families were asleep when it began, there was no fire alarm or smoke detection, gas cylinders were stored indoors and the wooden buildings were connected. Encroachments on the road also slowed the search, and water had to come in tenders and tankers from several towns.
How to survive a night fire in an old wooden building?
Raise the alarm and call 112 or 101, then leave immediately by the nearest safe exit. Stay low beneath smoke, cover the mouth with cloth, crawl to the exit and never go back. Keep a flashlight and cloth near the bed and never use open-flame heaters indoors.
In the early hours of Monday, 12 January 2026, a fire broke out in an old four-storey wooden building in Arki Market, the main market of Arki in Solan District, Himachal Pradesh. Officials gave the start time as roughly 2:00 to 2:45 AM. The toll reached 10, nine Nepalese nationals and an eight-year-old child from Bihar.
Shops below, families above
Shops used the ground and first floors. The top two floors were rented to migrant workers from Nepal and Bihar, including families, who were asleep when the fire began. A child from Bihar was among the dead.
Most remains were burnt beyond recognition and kept for DNA identification.
The cylinders and the cause
Early police accounts said at least six LPG cylinders exploded. A later joint inspection found eight domestic cylinders in the building, three of which had burst (The Tribune, 14 January 2026). The fire spread to nearby shops and houses.
The cause has not been officially established, and the district administration ordered a magisterial inquiry. Police began action against the owner under the Essential Commodities Act, and registered an FIR under Section 287 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (negligent conduct with fire or combustible matter).
What made it so deadly
- No fire alarm or smoke detection system.
- Multiple gas cylinders stored unsafely indoors.
- The old wooden construction let the fire spread fast, as the Deputy Commissioner himself said.
- Encroachments on the road slowed the search, because earth-moving machines could not move freely.
- Water had to come in fire tenders and tankers from several towns, including Solan and Nalagarh.
- Families were trapped while they slept.
The numbers
| Data Point | Figure |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 10 (9 Nepalese nationals, 1 child from Bihar) |
| LPG cylinders that exploded | At least 6 (police, via Times of India) |
| Building | Old four-storey wooden building; shops below, rented rooms above |
| Legal action | FIR under BNS Section 287; magisterial inquiry ordered |
| Fire-accident deaths in India, 2024 | 5,888 (NCRB, Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024) |
What an official said
“Only human remains are being found, as this was an extremely severe fire.”
— Rahul Jain, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Solan (Times of India, 14 January 2026)
What would have helped
- Smoke alarms and early warning.
- Clear exits and alternate escape paths.
- A ban on bulk LPG storage in residential buildings.
- Working fire hydrants in town.
- Separate residential and commercial use of buildings.
- Public education on winter heating fire risks.
Small towns are growing faster than their fire cover
India’s small towns are urbanising fast, but the fire infrastructure has not kept pace. Old wooden buildings, stored LPG and people asleep above shops make a deadly mix. Fire safety has to be part of development from the start, not something added later.
If you are caught in smoke
- Stay low if trapped in smoke and cover your mouth with a cloth.
- Crawl to the nearest exit.
- Never use open flame heaters indoors.
- Keep a torch and a cloth near your bed.
- Teach children how to react to smoke and fire.
- Call 101 for fire or 112 for any emergency.
Where the case stands
The search at the site ended on 15 January 2026 after four days. ETV Bharat reported that 20 sets of human remains were recovered and sent for forensic examination, and that police registered a case against the building owner. The number of remains is not the same as the number of people who died, so the toll stays at 10 until DNA results say otherwise.
As of 16 October 2026 we found no published inquiry finding, DNA result, arrest or compensation announcement.
Solan’s fire and emergency safety guide lists the emergency numbers, the fire stations and the local risks to know.
Tonight
If you live above a shop, find your second way out tonight. Ask how many LPG cylinders are stored in your building, and where.
- Families occupy rooms above/near shops
- Late-night fire develops in old market structure
- LPG involvement accelerates spread
- Fire crosses connected combustible construction
- Teams and dogs recover remains for DNA identification
- Joint inspection finds eight 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinders in the building, three of them burst; hoarding suspected (The Tribune)
- Search ends after four days with 20 sets of human remains recovered and sent for forensic tests; police register a case against the building owner (ETV Bharat)
- No inquiry finding, DNA result, arrest or compensation report found
Why consequences escalated
- Wooden connected buildings enable rapid concealed spread
- LPG stock beneath sleeping accommodation is a severe mixed-use hazard
- Early warning is essential during sleeping hours
- Bathrooms do not protect against heat and smoke
- Market fire plans need hydrants, access and exposure protection
Failures and risk multipliers
- Storing at least six domestic LPG cylinders inside an old wooden building where families slept
- No fire alarm or smoke detection to wake people sleeping above the shops
- Shops below and rented family rooms above, in connected wooden buildings
- Encroachments on the road that slowed the earth-moving machines during the search
- No reliable water supply in town, so tankers had to come from Solan and Nalagarh
Actions that reduce risk
- Allow no bulk LPG storage in mixed shop-and-home buildings
- Fit smoke alarms in every room where people sleep, especially in old wooden buildings
- Give upper floors a second way out that does not pass through the shops
- Install working hydrants and water storage in hill-town markets
- Clear road encroachments so fire tenders can reach the market
- Inspect rented rooms above shops and record who sleeps there
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