BENGALURU: In 2010, a fire engulfed Carlton Towers, a building near Old Airport Road in Bengaluru, killing nine people and injuring almost 70 in the tragic incident. Also, three people died due to fatal injuries after jumping off the top floors of the eight-storeyed building, while six lost their lives due to severe burns and asphyxiation. The incident has brought about many changes in fire safety norms. 

As part of the ninth anniversary of the Carlton fire incident, Beyond Carlton – India’s first citizen-led fire safety community, born out of the Carlton fire tragedy, in association with Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), Citizen Matters, Jain (Deemed-to-be-University) and When-It-Strikes – has embarked on a campaign to offer free fire-risk assessment for Bengaluru Apartments.

A PIL was filed by Beyond Carlton supported by Namma Bengaluru Foundation in the Karnataka high court in 2010 resulting in a government notification for stringent preventive measures for high rise buildings in Karnataka. They sought direction to the authorities to inspect all high rises in the city for fire safety and also sought submissions of a bi-annual report to the court.

“At Beyond Carlton, we understand the damage, trauma and anxiety that these mishaps cause. Having been born out of a fire tragedy ourselves, it has been our purpose to ensure other families do not suffer due to lack of awareness and non-compliance to fire safety,” says Uday Vijayan, Founder of Beyond Carlton.  
He feels that the situation is slightly better than before. This year, Dr A Ravindra, former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, will deliver the Beyond Carlton Memorial Lecture on ‘Our Cities on Fire’ and the event will be held at The Karnataka Fire and Emergency services headquarters.

Further, as a part of its annual programme, Beyond Carlton will also honour fire champions who endure great risk during fire accidents in order to save many lives. This year, Siddrameshwar Humanabade, a delivery-boy at Swiggy, who rushed to the site of a hospital fire in Marol, Mumbai and managed to save 10 people on the fateful day of December 18, 2018, will be honoured during the event. Beyond Carlton  will also recognise and honour firemen of the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services.