Fire Safety

Days after a fire at a nightclub in North Goa claimed 25 lives, the district administration has issued an order prohibiting the use of fireworks, sparklers and pyrotechnics inside tourist establishments. The North Goa district administration issued the order on Wednesday evening as a precautionary measure following the tragic fire incident which occurred at the nightclub in Arpora around midnight on December 6. "The order has been issued under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, prohibiting the use, bursting, ignition or operation of fireworks, sparklers, pyrotechnic effects, flame thrower-type devices, smoke generators and similar fire/smoke-producing equipment inside tourist establishments," a senior district administration official said. The prohibition applies to all nightclubs, bars and restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, resorts, beach shacks, temporary structures, event venues and entertainment establishments across North Goa, as per the order. A prelimina

The Goa Police has approached the CBI for issuance of an Interpol Blue Notice against Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, after they fled the country, officials said Tuesday. Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora where the incident happened on Saturday, are believed to have fled to Phuket, Thailand, hours after the tragedy, the Goa Police said on Monday. The Interpol Blue Notice is issued to collect additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation. The agency is in touch with the Interpol regarding the request of the Goa Police to track the fugitives. The Red Notice which calls for detention of the fugitive can only be issued after a charge sheet is filed and a Non Bailable Warrant is issued against the wanted person. "Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol

A nightclub fire in Goa highlights growing risks in commercial buildings, even as data shows rising fatalities in such spaces despite an overall decline in fire deaths nationwide

Of the 25 people who lost their lives in the blaze that erupted in the early hours of Sunday, four of them were tourists, and the others were staff members

At least 23 persons were killed in a blaze at a nightclub in North Goa following a cylinder blast late Saturday night, police said. Most of the dead were the club's kitchen workers, and included three women, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. There were three to four tourists among those killed, he added. Sawant, who rushed to the spot, told reporters that of the 23, three succumbed to burn injuries and the others died due to suffocation. As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, the chief minister said. The fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane after midnight. The popular party venue at Arpora village, around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year, We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms, Sawant said. This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state, Sawant said. We will conduct a detailed ...

A devastating fire at Birch By Romeo Lane, a nightclub at Arpora in North Goa, which killed at least 25 people early Sunday brought back horrific memories of the deadly blaze that claimed 62 lives at a nightclub in North Macedonia in March this year. Here's a look at some other nightclub fires that claimed significant human lives in the past decade: * October 2015: Colectiv nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania, killed 64 people. Pyrotechnics during a performance by the metalcore band Goodbye to Gravity ignited the club's flammable polyurethane acoustic foam. The fire spread rapidly. * December 2016: Ghost Ship' warehouse fire in Oakland, California, claimed 36 lives. The deadliest blaze in the history of Oakland was triggered during an electronic music and dance party. * January 2022: Fire at nightclub in Yaounde, Cameroon, killed 16 people. Blaze occurred due to fireworks lit while champagne was being served in the club. * January 2022: 19 killed in fire at Sorong nightclub in We

Hong Kong voters are casting ballots Sunday in their second legislative election since a 2021 overhaul of the system eliminated the pro-democracy opposition in the Chinese territory. The poll, coming less than two weeks after an apartment fire that killed at least 159 people, is a possible test of public sentiment about the government's handling of the tragedy. The focus is on voter turnout, which fell to about 30% in the last election in 2021, after the overhaul dampened interest. Some analysts believe mounting public anger over government accountability in the blaze could suppress turnout further. City leader John Lee has called on citizens to vote, saying Friday it would send a signal on promoting reforms. He said he would put forth a proposal to the new legislature on how to support the victims, many who have been left homeless by the fire. The polls close at 11:30 pm. Deadly blaze stalled get-out-the-vote efforts Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained

Donations for victims of a Hong Kong fire that killed at least 146 people and left thousands homeless reached 900 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 115 million), authorities said on Monday, in a massive outpouring of sympathy and support. But as questions grew over who to blame for the deadly blaze, the government appeared to be moving swiftly to stifle criticism. A steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other tributes at a makeshift memorial near the burned-out block of buildings, after long lines of mourners during the weekend. When something happens, we come out to help each other, said Loretta Loh, after paying her regards at the site. I have a heavy heart. The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po. It burned through seven of eight apartment towers, home to some 4,600 people, and wasn't fully extinguished until Friday morning. Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit staff went through four of the buildi

A local official informed that firefighting and rescue operations were nearly concluded after days of efforts to combat the deadly fire that claimed at least 128 lives

The scale of the disaster unfolding in northern Hong Kong - which killed at least 128 - presents an acute challenge to a city notorious for its housing shortage and sky-high rents

Some 200 residents of Wang Fuk Court were still unaccounted for as of Friday, with Secretary for Security Chris Tang saying at a briefing that officials couldn't rule out finding more bodies

While the exact cause of the deadly inferno that swept across a Hong Kong apartment complex remains unknown, questions have been raised about the role of the bamboo scaffolding that enveloped the buildings at the time of the fire. The blaze, which has left at least 94 dead, has focused attention on the use of the ancient construction technique dating back over 1,000 years. Bamboo poles lashed together using wire and other strong materials are often found at construction sites in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong is one of the few major cities where such scaffolding is a common sight. Officials said Wednesday's fire started on the external scaffolding of a 32-story tower in the suburb of Tai Po, spread to the inside of the building and then to six other towers, likely aided by windy conditions. Officials are investigating why the scaffolding and other construction materials used in renovations to the outsides of the buildings caught fire. Bamboo is a fast-growing plant that forms tall, hol

A massive fire broke out in a cluster of huts near Rithala metro station in Delhi's Rohini late on Friday night, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said. The DFS said it received a call regarding the blaze at around 10.56 pm, following which 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Firefighters are currently engaged in dousing the flames. Preliminary information suggests that several huts have been gutted. Meanwhile, police sources said that several LPG cylinders were said to have exploded, intensifying the blaze and triggering panic among residents. Thick plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area even as locals scrambled to save their belongings and move to safer places. Police have cordoned off the area, and additional fire tenders have been kept on standby to prevent the fire from spreading further. "Our teams are working to douse the flames. We have asked the police to keep the onlookers away," said a DFS officials.

Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO) Maninder Singh said that around 10 fire brigade vehicles are tackling the fire

There were no immediate reports of casualties; units from the Bangladesh Fire Service, Civil Aviation Authority, the Bangladesh Air Force and the Navy were jointly battling the fire

A major broke out in a nine-storey business park in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area on Monday afternoon, officials said. There was so far no report of any casualty, they said. The blaze was reported in the nine-storey business park, located on LBS Road near Shreyas Talkies in Ghatkopar (West), at 2.35 pm, the official said. As per preliminary information, the blaze was confined to the ground floor of the commercial building, a civic official said. "Seven fire engines were rushed to the spot. Further details from the spot are awaited," a fire brigade official said.

Six persons died and two injured in a fire accident at a crackers manufacturing unit in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district on Wednesday, said a police official. Police suspect that the accident could have occurred due to mishandling at the crackers manufacturing unit. Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district superintendent of police Rahul Meena said the crackers manufacturing unit was a licensed one. "Yes, six bodies have been found. We are verifying the details of the bodies. I think it was a licensed unit only," Meena told PTI. Further, he said the injured persons were shifted to a hospital.

While such practices exist in leading private facilities, experts say public hospitals, often stretched and underfunded, struggle with outdated wiring, inadequate maintenance, and lax inspection

A major fire broke out at a godown storing chemicals along the Mumbai-Nashik highway in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Monday. While no casualty was reported in the blaze which erupted around 9.45 pm on Sunday, a fire officer was injured after falling into a drain during the firefighting operation, they said. Thick smoke from the burning chemicals triggered panic in the surrounding industrial area. Efforts were still on to douse the blaze, the officials said. The fire originated in the chemical storage unit located near Savad Naka in Lonad village of Bhiwandi town along the highway, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Saquib Kharbe said. Several fire engines and private water tankers were pressed into service, he said. There was no report of any casualty in the blaze so far. However, fire officer Nitin Lad sustained injuries after slipping and falling into a drain while wearing a fire suit during the operation and was immediat

A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Iraq's Ministry of Interior said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the fire that broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. Civil defence teams were able to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, the statement said. The mall, which had opened only a week earlier, was in a five-story building that also contained a restaurant and supermarket. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that people remained missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Provincial Gov Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three days of mourning. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner