Central Hyderabad Is Most Fire-Risk Zone, Says Study
“Our analysis confirms that fire incidents in Hyderabad are not randomly distributed but form statistically significant clusters,” the authors stated.
Hyderabad:Central Hyderabad has emerged as the area that is most prone to fire accidents, according to a spatial study that mapped urban fire incidents using Geographic Information System (GIS)-based hotspot analysis.
The study was authored by Veena Raparthi, Durgesh Kurmi and Kethoori Venkatesh from the department of geography, Osmania University, Institute of Excellence in Higher Education, Bhopal, and Nizam College. It has been published in the ‘Asian Journal of Geographical Research’.
“Our analysis confirms that fire incidents in Hyderabad are not randomly distributed but form statistically significant clusters,” the authors stated. “The central zone consistently records the highest concentration of fire incidents.”
The study, which analysed fire accident data from the Hyderabad fire department between January 2017 and December 2024, found that careless smoking (41.94 per cent) and electrical faults (39.06 per cent) were the leading causes of fires. “Ageing electrical infrastructure and high power demand play a major role in urban fire risk,” it said.
“The Central Zone alone accounts for 64.86 per cent of very high-risk areas, followed by the North East Zone at 42.56 per cent,” the authors noted.
Between 2017 and 2024, Hyderabad recorded 4,406 urban fire incidents. The highest annual incidents were reported in 2018 (789 cases) and 2023 (777 cases). Monthly data showed peaks in March, April and January, while the lowest incidents occurred during the monsoon months.
Summer (March–May) accounted for 35.20 per cent of total fires, followed by winter (December–February) at 29.84 per cent.
The researchers used the Getis-Ord Gi hotspot analysis technique within a GIS framework to identify clusters of high-risk (hotspots) and low-risk (cold spots) fire locations. Fire accident records were geocoded ward-wise and analysed to assess spatial dependency on how incidents in one area influence neighbouring locations.
The study covered the GHMC region. Based on the analysis, 35 wards were classified as Very High Fire Risk, with a combined population of about 13.14 lakh and population density of 17,669 persons per sq km.
High-risk wards include Venkateshwara Colony, Gandhinagar, Red Hills, Himayatnagar, Bholakpur, Musheerabad, BoudhanNagar, Adikmet, Ramnagar, Kavadiguda, Banjara Hills, Khairtabad, Bansilalpet, Ramgopalpet, Monda Market, Balanagar, Somajiguda, Ameerpet, Sanathnagar, Fatehnagar, Vengalraonagar, Kachiguda, Nampally, Mehdipatnam, Mallepally, Nanalnagar, Yousufguda, Jubilee Hills, Begumpet, Abids, Secunderabad Cantonment, Trimulgherry , and Ahmednagar.
Of the city’s fire stations, Secunderabad responded to the highest number of incidents (807), followed by Panjagutta (768) and Sanathnagar (649). Most fires over 95 per cent were controlled within 30 minutes, indicating timely response in many cases.
Spatial analysis showed that some high-risk wards fell under extended and delayed response zones, particularly areas such as Gachibowli, Chandanagar, Patancheruvu and Hastinapuram. “These areas require review of fire station placement to reduce response time,” the authors stated.
The study recommended zone-specific fire mitigation strategies, improved electrical safety checks, and strategic addition or relocation of fire stations, particularly in the Central, North and South zones.
