KATHMANDU, JANUARY 22
Namrata Rai, 39, who used to live inside a temporary settlement in a developed city area of Bhaisepati in Lalitpur, lost her life in a fire yesterday morning.
Similarly, four people, including two elderly women, a new mother and a 35-day old baby nearly lost their life due to asphyxiation inside a closed room on the 5th floor of a building in Koteshwor in the capital.
These two examples of fire incidents in urban areas are representative of 22 similar accidents that tookplace in the last 24 hours that killed two and injured nearly a dozen people. Another person who lost her life was a woman who died inside her house in Mahottari. A total of 24 livestock were lost and property worth Rs 3.5 billion was destroyed in the fire.
Authorities say most urban fires can be put out on time since they have resources and are reported soon. The fire incidents in rural areas often go unreported and it's not possible to put out the fire due to inaccessibility or lack of resources.
As per the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, majority of fire incident occur in the southern belt of the country. Moreover, Madhes Province and the Tarai area of Province 1 alone record over 70 per cent of all fire incidents across the country.
Looking at the data of the past 24 hours, Madhes Province and Province 1 recorded nine and seven fire cases respectively. All the fire incidents were recorded in the Tarai except for one in Sudurpaschim Province and three in the valley.
Winter season is considered the worst for fire incidents in the country. Winter sees very less rain in the country and everything gets really dry and can easily catch fire. Moreover, the wind also helps in exacerbating the situation by igniting the fire and spreading it more widely.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
