The Delhi Fire Services (DFS), in a detailed proposal submitted to the government, has suggested making fire detection systems mandatory in all new constructions, with existing buildings required to install them within the next three years through a house tax rebate scheme, a senior officer of the agency said on Saturday.

The DFS has also recommended mandatory sprinkler systems for all new residential buildings, with phased implementation in low-rise structures over five years. The proposal, submitted last week after a fire incident in Malviya Nagar, which claimed 23 lives, stated that no building plan approval or occupancy certificate should be granted without fire detection and sprinkler systems.

“The document presents a scientific case for expanding fire safety requirements beyond high-rise and public buildings to ordinary homes, where a majority of the city’s population resides,” said Chief Fire Officer A.K. Malik.

The agency noted that the time taken for a room fire to reach ‘flashover’ – the stage at which an entire room ignites almost simultaneously and survival becomes nearly impossible – has fallen sharply over the last three decades. While a typical Delhi home in the 1990s could take 15 to 17 minutes to reach flashover, modern homes can reach the same stage in just three to five minutes.