From Uphaar Cinema to Malviya Nagar Hotel: Delhi’s biggest fire incidents, wreaked havoc on hundreds of families.
New Delhi. Every year, incidents of fire occur in Delhi, which involve hotels, factories, markets and residential buildings. The recent massive fire incident in Malviya Nagar has once again raised questions on the security arrangements of the capital. 21 people have died and many have been injured in this accident. In the last 30 years, Delhi has witnessed some horrific fire incidents which shook the entire country.
Uphaar Cinema fire (1997): Fire engulfed 59 people, killing them
The day of 13 June 1997 is recorded as a horrific fire incident in the history of Delhi, when a major fire broke out in Uphaar Cinema located in CR Park, South Delhi. According to the information, the show of Sunny Deol’s film ‘Border’ was going on that day, when a fire broke out in the lower floor of the cinema hall due to a spark from an electricity transformer. Gradually the fire and smoke spread throughout the building, trapping the people inside. In this tragic accident, 59 people were killed, while more than 100 people were injured. Most of the deaths were not caused by fire but by suffocation due to smoke and poisonous gases. After the accident, it was also revealed that the evacuation system and security arrangements in the building were not adequate, due to which people did not get a chance to get out. This incident had raised serious questions on the fire safety arrangements of cinema halls and public buildings across the country. The Uphaar fire is still considered one of India’s most painful urban accidents.
43 people were burnt in Anaj Mandi factory accident
The second biggest fire in the capital was the Anaj Mandi Factory Accident (2019). In the year 2019, a massive fire broke out in an illegal factory located on Rani Jhansi Road, wreaking havoc. A total of 43 people were killed in this accident, while many others were seriously injured. This accident happened when many workers were present inside the factory and the fire quickly spread throughout the building. Due to narrow streets, only one exit and lack of security arrangements, people were not able to get out in time. After the incident it emerged that there were serious violations of fire safety standards in the building. This accident raised a big question on illegal industrial units and ignorance of building safety rules in Delhi.
Malviya Nagar Hotel Accident
A tragic accident took place on Tuesday morning at Lemon Green Hotel near Max Hospital in Malviya Nagar, when a sudden fire broke out in the lower floor of the hotel. Within no time the fire engulfed the entire building. According to the information, many families who had come for treatment were staying in the hotel at that time. The fire spread so fast that people did not even get a chance to get out. 21 people died in this horrific accident. This incident is considered to be one of the biggest tragedies that happened in the last 29–30 years, which destroyed the happiness of many families forever.
Vivek Vihar AC blast
A tragic accident in Vivek Vihar area shocked the entire area. A massive fire broke out in a four-storey building after an air conditioner (AC) explosion in a house. According to the information, the fire incident spread so fast that the entire building got engulfed by it. 9 people of Jain family burnt to death in the accident. As soon as information about the incident was received, the fire department and police reached the spot and relief and rescue operations were started. It took several hours of effort to control the fire.
mundka factory fire
13 May 2022 A massive fire broke out in a commercial building near Mundka Metro Station in West Delhi, which shook the entire area. According to eyewitnesses, the fire spread rapidly in the building and within no time the entire building was engulfed by it. The people present in the building could not get enough time to get out. In this tragic accident, 27 people died, while many people were seriously injured. After the accident, many families became homeless and their belongings and documents were completely burnt to ashes.
On June 1, 2026, a fire broke out on the second floor of the Ministry of Education office in the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) campus at ITO. Although no large-scale casualties were reported in this incident, there was chaos in the office.
A day before this, on May 31, 2026, an incident of fire broke out in a four-storey building in Mukherjee Nagar area, which created panic in the area.
On May 3, 2026, there was a massive fire in Vivek Vihar area, in which nine people of the Jain family died. Similarly, on March 18, 2026, at least nine people, including three children, lost their lives in a fire in a residential building in Palam area of south-west Delhi.
Last year in June 2025, the fire incident in the multi-storey building of Shapath Society located in Dwarka Sector-13 had shocked the entire city. A 10-year-old boy, a girl and their father died when they jumped from the seventh floor in an attempt to escape the fire.
A continuous increase in fire incidents is being recorded in the capital Delhi. According to the latest data from Delhi Fire Service (DFS), more than 7,800 fire-related emergency incidents have been recorded in the first four months of 2026. According to the data, this amounts to an average of around 1,950 incidents per month and around 65 cases per day. At the same time, about 3 fire-related cases are being reported per hour, which shows the seriousness of the situation. The situation became more worrying, especially in April 2026, when more than 2,300 fire incidents were recorded in one month alone. This accounts for about 30% of the total cases.
According to official data, while 6,511 cases were reported during January to April 2025, the number increased to more than 7,800 in the same period of 2026. In this way, about 1,290 more incidents have been reported this year. According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), the pressure of emergency calls is also increasing continuously amid the increasing cases. On May 29, 2026, the department’s Chief Fire Officer AK Malik had said that fire-related calls could reach 250 per day. He also said that just three days before the statement, the department had received 256 calls in a single day, one of the highest levels ever.
While emergency calls have remained at a consistently high level over the past decade and a half, there has also been an alarming increase in the number of deaths over the years. According to the data, in 2009-10, 423 people died with 21,314 calls. After this, 22,187 calls and 447 deaths were recorded in 2010-11. 2011–12 recorded 18,143 calls and 357 deaths, while 2012–13 recorded 22,581 calls with 285 deaths.
This trend continued in the mid-decade years also. 23,242 calls and 291 deaths were recorded in 2014–15, 27,089 calls and 339 deaths in 2015–16, and 30,285 calls and 277 deaths in 2016–17. There were 29,423 calls and 318 deaths in 2017-18. The figures remained high in the years that followed. 31,264 calls and 297 deaths were recorded in 2018-19, 31,157 calls and 308 deaths in 2019-20, and 25,709 calls and 346 deaths in 2020-21. The situation appears to have become more serious in recent years. 2021-22 saw 27,343 calls with 591 deaths, while 2022-23 saw 31,958 calls and 1,029 deaths. The most worrying figures recorded 3,232 injuries and 1,303 deaths during 31,575 calls in 2023-24.
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