Narrow Passage Hampered Rescue Efforts At Illegal Building
It took two hours and as many as 11 fire tenders to douse the fire, Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Director General Y Nagi Reddy said, adding that rescue personnel had to wear oxygen masks to enter the blazing house
Hyderabad: The gutted building at Gulzar Houz, where 17 members of a single family, including a two-year-old child, died in a fire accident, was found to be illegal, with multiple deviations from the approved building plan. The building has no legally mandated setbacks, narrow passages leading to the first and second floors, and compound walls attached to adjacent structures — all of which severely hampered fire rescue operations.
The fire-hit two-storeyed structure, spread over 250 square yards, had extremely limited access. The passage to reach the first and second floors was extremely narrow.
“This structure has only one passage, which serves both as entrance and exit. With great difficulty, two people can enter the first floor from the ground level due to the narrow passage. Reaching the second floor from the first is even more challenging — only one person can use the passage at a time, and that too with difficulty,” said an official who inspected the site.
“A team entering the building carrying equipment to douse the fire was out of the question,” he lamented.
Apart from the absence of setbacks, the building had structures on both sides, and the compound walls were attached directly to the main structure.
“The fire broke out right at the entrance. If there had been setbacks, firefighters could have rescued more people,” observed another official at the site.
Firefighters were unable to enter the building through the front elevation using ladders. Ultimately, they had to go through a passage in an adjacent building, break a wall, and reach those trapped inside.
Verification revealed that this 50-year-old structure, where 17 people died, is not an isolated case. Many other buildings in that area — and indeed in numerous localities across Hyderabad — suffer from similar violations and deviations.
Officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), particularly the town planning wing, have been criticised for ignoring these deviations, turning a blind eye to illegal constructions, and failing to enforce compliance with building norms. As a result, property owners are not applying for Fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs) either.
To obtain a fire NOC, a structure must comply with fire safety norms, including the presence of fire exits and proper equipment. However, due to multiple deviations, most property owners do not apply for fire NOCs.
