Gulzar Houz Fire: Officials deny water shortage claims when angry residents test fire work

On May 18, 2025, police officers outside the building near Gulzar Houz caught fire in Hyderabad, Telangana. Image source: G. Ramakrishna

Some residents and families of victims of the Gulzar Houz Fire claimed that the first fire bidding was very little water, thus delaying the rescue operation. The claim repeatedly surfaced during the chaos, when ministers again visited the Modi family in the morgue of the Ottomania General Hospital, prompting officials to promise an investigation into the matter.

However, Telangana National Disaster Response and Fire Department dismissed the allegations.

Director-General Y. Nagi Reddy clarified that by national standards, each fire bidding has 4,500 liters of water. “We also deployed river water (tanks) for backup. The tender cannot carry unlimited water – its standard practice is to add Bowles or to supplement the tender at the station,” he explained. He added that the pump capacity per tender is 2,800 liters per minute. “On a full throttle, the water can run out in less than two minutes. That’s why our team wisely evaluates fires and uses water wisely based on technical experience and conditions on the ground,” Reddy said.

In total, 11 vehicles will be used in the Gulzar Houz fire operation, including water tenders, rescue tenders and archers, and will be used with the Bronto Skylift hydraulic platform. Even though the advanced fire robot was in standby mode, it was not used in the end. The operation lasted nearly two hours, with 17 officers and 70 personnel participating.

“It’s a high-risk operation,” said an official on the ground. “In extreme heat, thick smoke and zero visibility, we have to balance firefighting and rescue.”

The key challenge hinders action: The building has only one staircase, less than a meter wide, located in the center and close to the suspicious fire seat. As the flames engulf the lower floors, smoke and heat quickly fill the stairwells – effectively cutting off the only route to the upper floors. There are no other outlets, nor external windows or openings for deployment of hydraulic platforms for quick ventilation or access.