Fire at Dawood building sparks urgent calls for comprehensive safety audits

Margao: Following a fire at the Dawood building last week, concerned citizens and safety experts have launched urgent appeals for mandatory fire safety audits across all ageing structures in the city. The incident, which resulted in significant property damage but no casualties, exposed vulnerabilities in the city’s fire safety infrastructure, particularly in older buildings that have not undergone safety upgrades in decades.
“What we witnessed at Dawood building was a disaster waiting to happen,” said a resident. “Many buildings across Margao lack even the most basic fire safety features— no functional fire escapes and non-existent firefighting equipment. Fire escape staircases of high-rise buildings should be checked regularly, and if defects are found, they should be rectified immediately.”
A preliminary investigation revealed that the Dawood building had no fire escape stairways, and the situation was compounded by a lack of proper access to the building from the main road. There were no fire extinguishers either, sources in the fire department said.
This recent incident follows ongoing concerns about fire safety at the new municipal market complex, which houses over 600 shops but operates with inadequate firefighting infrastructure. A Feb 2025 safety audit already flagged unauthorised increase in power load across numerous shops, creating significant fire hazards.
President of the New Market Traders Association, Gopal Naik, said, “The safety of shopkeepers and customers is our top priority, but the delay in constructing an overhead water tank for a dedicated firefighting water pipeline has left us vulnerable.”
Many structures throughout the city face fire safety hazards—blocked evacuation routes, lack of basic firefighting equipment, and congestion that could hamper emergency response efforts. Sources in the fire department said that approximately 60% of buildings over 30 years old may fail to meet current safety standards.