Pakribarawan Market Fire, Nawada: Showroom and Welcome Shopping Centre Burn, No Casualties Reported; Fire Tenders Came from Four Places

What happened

On the evening of Saturday, 24 October 2026, at about 7:30 pm, a fire broke out in the main market at Pakribarawan, the block headquarters in Nawada district, Bihar. Swatva Samachar says it began in a footwear shop inside the Khadim showroom and then spread to the other shops in the same market. Prabhat Khabar says the flames from the showroom reached the neighbouring Welcome Shopping Centre, so two establishments were burning one after the other. Some outlets call the second building a “shopping mall”; Swatva Samachar lists the market as the showroom, a mall, a mobile shop, a general (manihari) shop and other shops. The market was busy, people ran to save themselves, and shopkeepers nearby were afraid the fire would reach their shops. Updated 26 October 2026.

No death or injury has been reported in any of the pages we read. 22Scope notes that there is no official confirmation either way, so we write “none reported”, not “none”. Swatva Samachar says the flames were so fierce that nobody dared to try to put them out. A market with stock, an unfinished upper floor and an evening crowd is exactly where a slightly different hour or a slower spread could have meant injuries, which is why we have written it up as a near-miss.

The fire brigade problem

Pakribarawan has no permanent fire station. Prabhat Khabar reports that fire tenders had to be called from Roh, Kauakol, Warisaliganj and Nawada, and that the first team reached about one hour after the alert. Residents quoted by FirstBihar and 22Scope say the fire engine took about half an hour. Both are claims by those outlets; no fire officer has confirmed the call time or the arrival time. Swatva Samachar adds that the station in-charge reached the spot first, took stock and then informed the fire brigade, that several vehicles had to be called one after another, and that the goods in the shops were reduced to ash before the brigade arrived. Power supply to the market was cut for safety. The circle officer has been informed. A later Prabhat Khabar report (26 October) adds that teams from Nawada, Nalanda and Sheikhpura worked for about seven hours before the fire was brought under control.

Our guide on fire response distance in remote areas explains why the first 10 minutes belong to the people on the spot when the nearest tender is far away.

Cause, loss and inquiry

The cause is not known. Swatva Samachar says a short circuit is considered possible, but nobody has confirmed it. Prabhat Khabar says the loss in both buildings has not been assessed, and Swatva Samachar says the same. Headlines speak of “lakhs” of rupees, with no figure behind it. We found no report of a fire NOC or of a formal inquiry by the fire department or the administration. Updated 27 October 2026: Prabhat Khabar (26 October, evening) reports that police have registered case no. 511/26 at Pakribarawan police station on a written complaint by the owner of the mall. He alleges that four people linked to the showroom, including its operator, set the fire on purpose to avoid a bank-loan liability, that his staff were stopped from throwing water on it, and that two years’ rent is unpaid. The showroom operator calls the allegations baseless, says no rent is due and says the fire began from a short circuit. These are claims by the two sides. The station in-charge told the paper that police are examining the matter fairly, and the report says CCTV footage will be looked at; we found no arrest and no confirmed cause. Reports also mention the circle officer being informed and people demanding a permanent fire station in the block. Construction of some rooms on the upper part of the mall was also going on (FirstBihar, 22Scope), and the reports do not say whether the building had a fire clearance.

Why it matters

Block headquarters markets across India are built like this: shops sharing walls, stock of footwear, plastics and electronics, tangled cables, and a first-floor extension going up. When there is no fire station in the town, a fire that starts in one shop has an hour to travel. Our case on the Adinath Textile Market fire in Surat shows a market fire that stayed on one floor, and the Seelampur market fire and the Khekra shop fire in Baghpat show how a shop fire in a crowded market can turn deadly. A showroom fire in Lucknow gutted 17 vehicles in a few hours (Lucknow EV showroom fire).

Lessons for readers

• Shop and showroom owners: keep at least one checked extinguisher per shop and learn the PASS method. Where the tender is an hour away, an extinguisher in the first two minutes is the only fire service you have.
• Market associations: ask the district for a fire point or a sub-station for the block, and agree a shared water source, a lane the tender can enter and a person who calls 101 or 112 at once; see which emergency number to call.
• Building owners: do not add floors or live-in rooms over shops without checking the fire clearance. Fire NOC in India explains what the paper covers and what it does not.
• Electrics: overloaded boards, hanging cables and old wiring start many shop fires; switch off the main supply at closing time. See small electrical faults that cause big fires.
• Everyone nearby: do not stay to watch or to save stock. Move away, keep the lane clear for the tender and call the number.
• Read the wider picture: safety in shopping malls and cinemas and fire NOC, paper against real safety.

More on Nawada: see our fire and emergency safety guide for emergency numbers, the fire stations and the local risks to know.

What is still not known

The confirmed cause (the mall owner alleges arson, the showroom operator says short circuit), the number of shops burnt, the value of the loss, the number of people in the market, the exact call and arrival times of the fire tenders, whether the building had a fire NOC, and what the police inquiry into case no. 511/26 finds are not reported. We could not find a fire officer’s statement, and we saw no arrest. We will update this page when official figures come out. Last checked on 27 October 2026, morning IST.