Surat Fire and Emergency Safety Guide

Hundreds of shops and stacks of cloth sit in the same building, so a fire in one basement shop can fill the whole market with smoke. In February 2025, one person died of smoke in the Shivshakti Textile Market fire, which needed more than 20 fire tenders.

In the 2019 Takshashila Arcade fire at Sarthana, 22 people, most of them students, died (some reports say 23). The class was on an upper floor with a single way in and out and no working fire safety equipment, and some students jumped to escape the smoke.

The Tapi runs through the heart of the city, and SMC lists river and creek (khadi) floods among Surat's main hazards. In August 2006, heavy releases from Ukai dam flooded about 128 sq km of what was then a 326 sq km city.

A single day of very heavy rain can flood roads, underpasses and low-lying societies. On 23 June 2025, Surat got more than 8 inches of rain in a day; the fire department moved over 100 people to safety and the Tapi causeway was closed.

Illegal dumping of chemicals into drains can release deadly gas. In January 2022, a tanker emptying chemicals into a drain at Sachin GIDC released gas that killed six people and sent about 20 to hospital.

Hazira's steel and energy plants handle hot coal, molten metal and fuel every day. On 31 December 2024, a fire at the AM/NS India steel plant killed four contract workers.