Fortify Firefighting Ability

In recent years, incidents of fire, both in forests and settlements, have surged in frequency and intensity, causing a huge loss of lives, property, biodiversity and soil quality. Each year, especially during the dry months from mid-March to mid-April, hundreds of fire incidents occur. Likewise, forest fires are among the major sources of air pollution in the country, with Kathmandu, the capital city, topping the global rank in poor air quality index. Despite the alarming situation, the government is, as always, underprepared in disaster management, and when it comes to preventing fire incidents, it seems least prepared, which keeps vulnerable communities at risk.  

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), a total of 7,648 disaster incidents were recorded in the last one year. Of these, fire, both in forest and structures, outpaces other disasters. In the same period, a total of 3,720 fire incidents were documented across the country, which claimed 105 lives and injured 571 people. Along with human toll, fire incidents have caused widespread disruption to livelihoods, with 4,260 families affected directly.

These statistics pose a question mark over our firefighting capacity and public awareness of fire control. Most of the time, minor negligence leads to major disasters. We have seen many organisations spreading information on a wide range of disasters, but very few programmes and awareness activities are conducted to minimise fire incidents. Most of the time, forest fires start from an unextinguished cigarette butt, causing massive damage to vegetation and animals and causing damage to the nearby settlement. Likewise, a fire in a house starts from an unattended cooking stove, flammable objects near the fireplace, children playing with matchboxes and an electric short circuit, or open burning of agricultural waste.

Nepal has been able to increase its forest coverage from 26 per cent to almost 45 per cent, thanks to its sustained conservation efforts. It has led to an increase in wildlife, flora and fauna as well, but increasing forest fire incidents have been a major setback to our conservation efforts. As per a news report, published in this daily on Sunday, within just 24 hours from the morning of April 10 to the morning of April 11, 2026, 19 disaster incidents occurred nationwide. Of these, 16 were fire-related incidents. The rising cases of fire demands that the government come up with strong and sustainable strategies and firefighting infrastructures for a sustainable solution.

However, many local levels lack firefighting equipment and skilled human resources. They should be enhanced with essential firefighting equipment. Likewise, proper training activities should be given to the community. In a country where a house ablaze in the capital seldom gets a fire truck on time, enhancing the firefighting capacity at the local levels is an uphill task. The authorities should allocate an adequate budget and invest in fire control infrastructure and manpower to respond to fire emergencies and control them immediately. As a saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine, being well prepared is the only way to fight a disaster like fire, so the government should invest in preparedness.