50 heritage buildings gutted in last 144 years :

1. The fire at Grand Hotel, housing the Holiday Home of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), has again raised concern about the safety of buildings in Shimla — the erstwhile summer capital of British India.

2. Most of the heritage buildings were constructed during the British rule. The incidents of fire started in 1875 when Upper Bazaar located on The Ridge was gutted. In the past 144 years, more than 50 majestic buildings had been razed in fires.

3. The municipality took a wise step of not rebuilding the destroyed properties and prohibited rebuilding as well. It compensated proprietors and levelled down the crest of the road.

4. When the construction of the Town Hall (present Gaiety Theatre) was decided, the upper road was galleried and the Ridge was left open. Today it is one of the most sought-after places for strolling.

5. The fire in 1896 had consumed the PWD building. It was re-erected and the present iron-gripped Railway Board building stands on the ashes of that building. In another incident in 1902, a big block of old wooden buildings opposite the Telegraph House was reduced to ashes.

6. In 1922, Grand Hotel and Chelsea (CJM School) were gutted, but both buildings were replaced by an exquisite hill architecture. The Foreign Office building, known as Himachal Dham housing the HP Secretariat, was reduced to ashes in 1957. But it was replaced by a concrete structure and was named Akashvani.

7. Walker Hospital that was built in 1902 and used as military hospital since 1954 was gutted in 1998. The construction of a new hospital is yet to be completed.

8. Another majestic building, The Peterhoff , the then Raj Bhawan, was burnt in 1981. All belongings of the then Governor AA Khan were reduced to ashes.

9. The building of Harcourt Butler School, a marvel of unique design and ornate woodwork, was destroyed in a fire in 1974. The Snowdon Hospital building, once the residence of Lord Kitchener, was gutted on New Year’s evening in 1971.

10.The first permanent structure, Kennedy house built in 1925, and adjoining Kennedy cottage were also gutted. Other monumental buildings in the list are Gorten Castle, GPO, DC’s office, Western Command, DDU Hospital, HPU’s old building, Pari Mahal, Kumar House and Coop Printing Press, near Cart Road.

Reasons of Fire  :

• The lack of humidity helps propagate fires that start from a cooking stove or from other human activity. 
• In urban areas, experts said short circuits are among the leading cause of fires.
• When there is extreme heat outside, usage of air conditioners goes up immensely in urban areas. This adds to the load on electrical wires. Some of these wires are not designed to handle such a load and often trip, which produces the spark needed to start a fire.
• The quality of wires being used in homes and offices were also a factor. “Some wires are made of polymers, which melt on continued exposure to hot temperatures, which could also result in short circuits.
• Fires in urban areas often spread rapidly because of the presence of combustible materials like paper and cloth in factories, offices and homes.

Fire safety  :

•  Building codes are enacted by local, sub-national, or national governments to ensure such features as adequate fire exits, signage, and construction details such as fire stops and fire rated doors, windows, and walls. Fire safety is also an objective of electrical codes to prevent overheating of wiring or equipment, and to protect from ignition by electrical faults.
• Local authorities charged with fire safety may conduct regular inspections for such items as usable fire exits and proper exit signage, functional fire extinguishers of the correct type in accessible places, and proper storage and handling of flammable materials. Depending on local regulations, a fire inspection may result in a notice of required action, or closing of a building until it can be put into compliance with fire code requirements.
• Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent ignition of an uncontrolled fire, and those that are used to limit the development and effects of a fire after it starts.
• The new Farenhyt IDP-Fire-CO detector senses both fire and carbon monoxide, eliminating the common use of multiple detectors, notification devices, monitor modules, and associated junction boxes. The detector meets new CO requirements for commercial sleeping occupancies that have been put in place by nearly 40 states, covering buildings such as hotels, college residences, healthcare facilities, and military housing.
• Alerts based on clear, intelligible voice notification combined with strobes and LED signage. Tones and voice commands are designed for speed and reliability, and can be integrated with secondary notification methods such as emergency text messages, telephone alerts, and e-mail. 
• Fire prevention programs may include distribution of smoke detectors, visiting schools to review key topics with the students and implementing nationally recognized programs such as  "Risk Watch" and "Learn not to burn".