Datanomics: India's fire services stretched despite rising urban risks

India has witnessed a series of deadly fire incidents in recent weeks, including one at a coaching-cum-gaming centre in Lucknow on Monday and others reported in Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country. The incidents have once again drawn attention to the country’s fire preparedness. Official assessments suggest that many states continue to operate with significant gaps in both infrastructure and manpower. Rajasthan has the highest fire station deficiency in the country at 85.6 per cent, closely followed by Maharashtra at 85.4 per cent, Bihar at 83.5 per cent, Jharkhand at 81.7 per cent, and Himachal Pradesh at 79 per cent, indicating that large parts of India lack the number of stations considered necessary for effective emergency response. The manpower situation is even more alarming, with Madhya Pradesh reporting a personnel deficiency of 97.6 per cent, while Bihar, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan all face shortages exceeding 96 per cent, suggesting that even where infrastructure exists, there may not be enough trained personnel to operate it effectively. The gap is also visible when India is compared internationally. The country has just 1.62 fire stations per million people, lower than Bangladesh’s 2.8, China’s 6.82, Japan’s 25.13 and Russia’s 126.53.