News: After Noida tower blaze, experts urge AC servicing, clear exits and regular fire audits-05-06-2026
A major fire broke out in a 12th-floor flat of a high-rise tower in Noida on June 5, the latest in a run of fire incidents across the National Capital Region. Pradeep Kumar, Chief Fire Officer of Gautam Buddh Nagar, said the building’s own firefighting equipment meant fire vehicles were not needed. Firefighters in protective suits and breathing apparatus entered the affected flats and put out the blaze, which was likely caused by a short circuit in an air conditioner.
The incident came hours after a hotel fire in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar that killed 21 people, and about two weeks after another fire on the 27th floor of the same housing society, also reportedly linked to an air-conditioner short circuit. Earlier fires hit a residential tower in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, on April 29 and two luxury apartments in Gurugram’s Sector 63A. With summer loads on electrical systems at their peak, concern over fire safety in high-rises has grown.
Munish Kumar, founder director of EHS Guru Sustainable Solutions Pvt Ltd, advised servicing air conditioners before summer and at least once a year, and keeping them at around 24 degrees C, since prolonged use at very low settings strains electrical systems. He said extinguishers are the first defence against small fires and should be kept in common areas, where residents and responders can reach them more easily than those inside flats. Residents should take staircases, not lifts, during a fire, because pressurised stairwells are designed to stay relatively free of smoke. Kitchen chimneys should be cleaned regularly, and fire water tanks and pumps kept working.
He also pointed to fire safety audits required under the National Building Code, and said smoke detectors and sprinklers must be checked routinely and protected during renovation. In his view, the availability of equipment is rarely the problem, since builders must install it and authorities check it while granting fire clearances. The real challenge is keeping alarms, hydrants, sprinklers and other systems fully operational.
Homebuyers’ associations said the fire should prompt a review of preparedness and enforcement. Rajiva Singh, founder member and former president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations, said fragmented regulations and weak long-term oversight leave towers vulnerable, as monitoring becomes disjointed once the initial fire NOC is issued and the project is handed over. The association suggested mandatory annual or biennial audits involving the fire department, independent experts and AOAs, checks on wet risers, fire water tanks, sprinklers, smoke detectors and fire lifts, and regular drills with residents, security staff and facility teams.
Kumar noted that most hydraulic platforms and aerial ladders reach only about 4 to 12 floors, so tall buildings depend on internal systems such as wet risers, hydrants, sprinklers, smoke extraction, fireman’s lifts and pressurised staircases. Firefighting drones with thermal cameras are being explored to assess upper floors, find hotspots and trapped occupants, and some can carry extinguishing payloads. He cautioned that drones cannot make up for blocked exits, locked staircases, faulty alarms or poor maintenance, and that smoke, wind, heat and battery limits restrict them. Strict compliance with fire norms, he said, remains the best protection.
