Ghaziabad: The fire department has marked 42 buildings, including residences, hospitals and hotels, ‘unsafe’ after they were found not complying with fire safety norms.In verification drives from 2017 to 2026, the department had found around 51 buildings were flouting safety norms. It had submitted a report of these to the district court following which proceedings against these buildings began. Only nine of these establishments have since upgraded their infrastructure, which has been approved by the fire department.Chief fire officer (CFO) Rahul Pal said the fire department is allowed to conduct regular inspections to ensure compliance. “If irregularities are found, we send notices to the persons concerned and give them a set time to complete the procedure. If they fail to do so, we report it to the district court and they take a call on what action will be taken against such parties,” he said.Of the 42 ‘unsafe’ buildings currently marked ‘unsafe’, Ajnara Gen-X in Crossings Republik is one. Notably, a fire broke out at a flat on the 20th floor of the same society on Tuesday. While no injuries were reported, the blaze damaged three ACs, two tables and one LED TV.The fire department managed to douse the fire but none of the housing’s own fire equipment was working at the time. Despite being reported to court in 2017, the society still has not upgraded its fire safety infrastructure in nine years.However, Supertech Livingston in Crossing Republik, proceedings for which has been going on since 2017, upgraded their fire equipment on March 20, 2026.Similarly, Panchsheel Wellington in Crossings Republik, which was marked ‘unsafe’ in 2018, got an approval on April 7, 2026. The same builder’s project, Panchsheel Primrose, also facing a case since 2022, made their equipment functional on March 11 this year.The CFO said that in the last one week, the fire department received an average of 15-20 fire calls daily.Apart from residential complexes, Santosh Hospital was also reported ‘unsafe’ in 2022. After a series of tests, the hospital now has fire safety equipment that have been approved by the department this year.Fortune Inn Grazia, a well-known hotel in Sector 23, was also said to have inadequate fire safety infrastructure. The fire department recently checked its preparedness and gave it a thumbs up.As per the CFO, there are still 29 residential buildings, home to around 25,000 people, eight hotels, four banquet halls and one commercial building that don’t have proper fire equipment and NOCs.Some of these are Angel Mercury in Indirapuram; Shipra Krishna Vista in Indirapuram; Ajnara Grace in Noor Nagar; Ajnara Integrity Phase-2 in Noor Nagar and Skytech Merion Residency Phase-1 and 2.The CFO also added that in the last two months, the fire department inspected over 200 buildings to learn whether the fire equipment or extinguishers were in working condition or not. It has issued 150 notices recently to those units where fire equipment were not in working condition.
