Vadodara Fire and Emergency Safety Guide

On 1 August 2019, about 499 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, 286 mm of it in four hours, and the Vishwamitri broke its banks after Ajwa dam overflowed; five people died, four of them in a wall collapse at Bajwa, and over 5,700 were moved out. On Tuesday 27 August 2024 the river crossed its 25-foot danger mark and later ran at 37 feet. Some areas stood under 10 to 12 feet of water, Siddharth Nagar, Akota, Harni-Sama Road, Fatehgunj, Munjmahuda and Vadsar were among the worst hit, more than 5,000 people were shifted and nearly 1,200 were rescued, with Army columns, NDRF and SDRF on the ground.

On the afternoon of Thursday 18 January 2024, a boat carrying a school picnic group overturned at Harni Lake. At least 14 people died, among them two teachers, and 18 students and two teachers were pulled out; only about 10 of the students were reportedly wearing life jackets. A case of culpable homicide was registered and two people were arrested.

At about 7.30 am on Wednesday 9 July 2025, a 10 to 15 metre slab of the 1985 Gambhira bridge near Padra fell between two piers while traffic was moving. Two trucks, two vans and an autorickshaw went into the Mahisagar, and the toll reached 21 within two days. Four engineers were suspended and a report was ordered within 30 days.

At about 9.30 am on Friday 24 December 2021, a boiler blast at a factory in the GIDC area near Makarpura police station killed four, among them a four-year-old girl, and injured 11, workers and passers-by alike. On the evening of 2 June 2022, a fire and a powerful explosion at the Deepak Nitrite plant in Nandesari sent seven workers to hospital with smoke inhalation, and about 700 people from nearby rural areas were moved as a precaution.

At about 4 am on Monday 19 October 2026, a milk tanker hit the rear of a gas tanker near Nandesari and damaged a valve, and gas leaked onto the expressway. Police and firefighters from the TP-13 station cordoned the stretch, sprayed water over the gas cloud and cooled the tanker; one side of the road stayed shut for many hours and traffic was diverted at Karjan. No injuries were reported, and reports differ on whether the gas was LPG or LNG, as we cover in a case study.

At about 9.30 am on Saturday 22 March 2025, fire broke out in a fifth-floor flat of a seven-storey society building in Sayajipura. A 43-year-old man who was alone in the flat died, and a short circuit was the likely cause. Neighbours called the fire brigade and police, and firefighters stopped the fire before it spread.