When I wrote the Op-Ed piece “Opinion | Hong Kong Fire Tragedy Shows Why India’s Vertical Boom Needs Urgent Fire Reform" on December 1, 2025, little did I realise that I will be recounting the horror so soon through yet another fire tragedy in India.

But I write the horror story in the aftermath of not one but two fire accidents—one a disaster which could have caused massive casualty and another in which scores of humans were burnt to death due to gross negligence.

The latter a bit later. First, about the disaster in which several human lives were saved due to sheer luck by chance.

The Pune Blaze

The intervening night of December 9-10. Location—my home city Pune. A massive blaze devastated the Ramesh Dyeing building on Laxmi Road in the Sadashiv Peth area—a very dense, narrow commercial locality in the Old Pune city area.

There is no dispute that had this accident happened in the daytime, there would have been massive casualties. But due to sheer luck, several people were saved. I will return sooner to why there was no casualty. Here are the details of the most recent Pune accident.

One, what happened. The Pune fire started in a makeshift storage/warehouse area on the terrace of the Ramesh Dyeing building where massive quantities of garments, bags and other stock were kept under a metal or tin shed. It then partially spread to an adjacent commercial building. The lower shop floors and neighbouring buildings were at direct risk because this is a tightly packed, older bazaar area with narrow streets and high footfall.

Two, why no casualty. Despite the site of the massive fire located in a dense, crowded, and narrow road, the zero casualty was owing to the following:

Time and place of ignition: The fire began on the terrace/storage area rather than inside the main sales floors or street‑level spaces, which meant fewer people were physically present at the exact point of ignition and initial rapid spread. This reduced immediate exposure of shoppers and staff to flames and smoke.

Fast response and heavy deployment: Local people quickly alerted the fire brigade, which dispatched multiple fire tenders, tankers and a hydraulic platform almost simultaneously (around ten vehicles in total, with roughly 50 personnel), allowing crews to surround the blaze before it travelled downward into the main shop area or laterally into the lane.

Tactical firefighting in a tight urban fabric: Because narrow lanes and congested surroundings made it hard to reach the fire from the street side, firefighters created an alternate access route from the adjacent Shah Brothers building by removing sheets and attacking the fire from above/sideways. This tactic helped stop the fire from moving into occupied commercial spaces and nearby structures.

Effective crowd and traffic management: Police, residents, and utility staff helped cordon the area and divert traffic, which prevented panic stampedes in the already narrow lanes and gave firefighters room to operate. As a result, people could be kept at a distance from the most hazardous zones, avoiding crush injuries or smoke‑related casualties.

Overall, what could have........

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