March 27, Kathmandu. A fire broke out in Dubhan Bazaar of Meringedar Municipality in Taplejung on February 3 and burnt down 58 houses. At 9 in the morning, the local Bhola Poudel's Mr. Vidyut 'shirt' was lit by a momentary light.


There was only one fire station in the district to control the fire, in the district headquarters Fungling Bazaar. "When the fire brigade arrived from Fungling in an hour, it was not possible to stop the fire from spreading in the entire settlement," said Ganesh Limbu, chairman of the village.



He said that as it was not possible to control the fire immediately, some of the houses were demolished using excavators to prevent the fire from spreading. But by then, half of the market had burned down.

The same thing happened when a fire broke out in Phungling Bazaar of Taplejung on 20 April 2077 BS. Mohan Prasad Pokhrel, a police inspector at the District Police Office, Taplejung, said, "There was only one fire station. Once the water was full, the fire would have been the same again."

According to Pokharel, the fire brigade in Panchthar had to be called to control the fire that was displacing 37 families. 

According to the District Police Office, Taplejung, 114 fires have been reported in the district in the last four years. The fire damaged 204 houses. When the fire broke out in the district, the same fire brigade is still running.

On 16 December 2075, a fire broke out in Laljoda, Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, Jhapa. 

The locals immediately informed the fire brigade of Damak municipality. However, it was too late for the fire brigade to arrive at two o'clock. According to locals, if there had been a fire brigade in Shivasatakshi municipality, it would not have caused any human casualties. However, the municipality has not yet shown interest in purchasing fire engines.

A fire broke out in Mechinagar Municipality-6, Kankarvitta of Jhapa on December 29, 2075, destroying 22 houses. Locals allege that the nearby fire brigade also suffered such damage when it arrived on time.

Not all local levels in Jhapa have fire engines. According to the locals, if there is a fire in Jhapa village, Kechankawal and other areas in the southern region bordering India, they have to rely on God.

Ward member of Jhapa Gaonpalika-6 Mohan Prasad Pokhrel says, "If there is a fire here, the fire brigade should be called from Damak or Birtamod. By the time the fire brigade arrives, the house will have been destroyed. '

Four members of the same family died in a fire that broke out in Harakpur, Kanepokhari Gaonpalika-3 of Morang on September 20, 2074 BS. The deceased have been identified as Chandra Kumar Rai, 56, Parvata Rai, 50, Bishnukumari Rai, 45, and Gangamaya Rai, 85.

On December 9, 2075, a bus (Na 8 Kha 3316) plying on the Kathmandu-Mahottari route at Jaleshwor-7, Bakhari in Mahottari district headquarters of Province-2 caught fire.

Driver Dhirendra Singh immediately informed the police and fire brigade to control the fire. However, the fire brigade, which was one kilometer away, could not be reached.

According to the police, there was a problem in controlling the fire as it was kept without maintenance for two weeks. In Mahottari, there were three fire brigades in Bardibas, Jaleshwor and Gaushala municipalities. However, at the time of the incident, everything was in a state of disrepair.

On 20 March 2074, a fire broke out in the house of Vashisht Narayan Varnawal of Pokhariya Municipality-4 of Parsa. When there was no fire brigade in Pokhariya, they had to be called from Birgunj, which delayed the fire control and caused a loss of around Rs 1.5 million. Local Dharmendra Chaurasia said that there was a lot of damage as there was no fire brigade in the municipality.

There have been five fire incidents in Manang district in the last one year. Four of them were on fire and one was at a monastery in Dharapani.

According to Chief District Officer Bishnu Lamichhane, none of the four local levels of Manang has a fire station.

According to District Police Chief DSP Subash Khadka, the fire was extinguished by locals, army and police.

A fire broke out in Narainapur Gaonpalika-4, Khodwa village of Banke district on March 6 and destroyed 120 houses.

Village chairman Istiaq Ahmed Shah said, "Last year, the municipality bought a fire engine and tried to control the fire in time, but it was not enough."

It will not be possible for a single fire brigade to control the fire in Fuska's house," Shah told online news.

A fire broke out at Padam Badal's fancy shop in Ghat Bazaar of Khalanga, the district headquarters of Darchula district in the far western region on December 19, 2075 BS. Locals and security personnel carried water from the Mahakali River to put out the fire near the Nepal-India bridge. After everyone's efforts, the fire was brought under control within an hour and a half.

According to Bhaskar Chand, Inspector of Police, District Police Office, Darchula, there is a fire station

in Mahakali Municipality of the district. However, due to geographical conditions, it cannot go everywhere.  There is a problem of fire brigade in the market area as well," said Chand. "Fire brigade is used around the highway."

According to spokesperson Kunwar, Rs 2.78 billion in the fiscal year 2075/76; In 2076/77, there was a loss of Rs. 2.21 billion and in 2077/78, there was a loss of Rs. 3.41 billion.

But 600 local levels are still without fire engines

According to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, out of 753 local levels, 6 metropolises have 19 fire brigades and the remaining 73 municipalities have 73 fire brigades. Besides, 11 sub-metropolitan cities have 22 fire brigades at the rate of two.

According to the ministry, there are four fire brigades in Kathmandu, three in Lalitpur, three in Pokhara, two in Bharatpur, three in Birgunj and four in Biratnagar Metropolitan City.

According to Rishi Raj Acharya, Deputy Secretary at the Environment and Disaster Management Branch of the Ministry of General Administration, 459 villages except Narainapur in Banke are still without fire engines.

According to him, out of 276 municipalities, some have tried to buy in 203 municipalities which do not have fire brigade. However, no one has taken the process forward saying that no one can support the lack of budget.

According to Acharya, there are 73 fire brigades in Province-1, 9 in Province-2, 11 in Bagmati, 9 in Gandaki, 10 in Lumbini, 5 in Karnali and 9 in Far-Western. Some of them are not in working condition.

According to a study conducted by the ministry, at least 96 more fire brigades are needed in Province 1, 22 in Province 2, 12 in Bagmati, 8 in Gandaki, 12 in Lumbini, 8/8 in Karnali and Far West.

According to the ministry, only 20 out of 276 local levels in 21 districts of the Terai have fire engines. Acharya said that 52 more fire brigades are needed in those districts immediately. The risk of fire is higher in the Terai district during the monsoon season.

Due to population density, dense settlement, many petrol pumps, storage of flammable substances, etc., the valley is at risk of fire. But there are not enough firefighters in the valley.