New Delhi: The recent fire incident in Ghaziabad has served as a wake-up call for residents living in gated high-rise buildings in Delhi-NCR, raising urgent concerns about fire safety measures and preparedness.
The Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA) wrote a letter on Wednesday to Pankaj Singh, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and senior administrative and fire department officials, highlighting serious gaps in fire-fighting infrastructure in high-rise clusters across Noida and Ghaziabad.
The letter stressed the urgent need to upgrade emergency systems in rapidly expanding urban skylines. It pointed out that existing fire tenders in Noida struggled to reach beyond the 10th floor, a deeply concerning gap in regions where most residential towers now range between 15 and 40 floors.
The letter further highlighted key challenges, including outdated firefighting equipment, congested access roads, and delayed emergency response due to rapid urban expansion.
“Noida has always been a benchmark for modern development in Uttar Pradesh. It is imperative that our safety standards evolve at the same pace as our skyline,” the letter states.
On Wednesday morning, a major fire broke out in a residential flat at Gaur Green Avenue Society in the Abhay Khand area of Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, gutting around five to six flats. According to the police, at least 15 fire tenders were deployed to douse the flames.
“Our goal is to ensure that as the mercury rises, our risk levels don’t. A ‘safety-first’ mindset is the best way to keep our high-rise communities catastrophe-free,” said Rajiva Singh, President, NOFAA.
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Notices and precautions
The NOFAA letter called for immediate structural reforms in fire safety infrastructure across Noida and Ghaziabad.
The letter called for several urgent remedial measures to strengthen fire safety infrastructure in high-rise buildings. It urged the immediate procurement of advanced firefighting machinery, including high-altitude hydraulic platforms capable of reaching more than 70 meters.
It also recommended a mandatory, time-bound fire safety audit of all internal systems, such as dry and wet risers, sprinklers, and pumps across residential societies, with strict corrective action for any violations.
The letter further added the creation of a specialised High-Rise Rescue Unit trained specifically for emergency operations in the Noida-Ghaziabad region.
However, following the incident and the rising heat, federations and RWAs across Delhi-NCR have started circulating notices in WhatsApp groups and among residents regarding safety measures to be taken for fire prevention in homes.
The notices warn against overuse of air conditioners, unsafe wiring, and improper storage of inflammable items in balconies. Societies were advised to ensure that smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and wet risers remain fully functional.
In Ghaziabad, RWAs have also begun circulating their own advisories, urging residents to switch off unused electrical appliances, maintain AC units, and protect devices from direct heat exposure.
“Notices of safety measures are always circulated by RWAs, but people tend to forget them until something big happens,” said Parvinder Yadav, President of Niti Khand 3, Manoj Vihar, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)