These are the nine fire mishaps that left the nation's conscience shaken over the past 25 years:
December 23, 1995 - Dabwali - Haryana
The worst fire mishap to take place in modern India - 442 persons including 225 school children lost their lives in a fire and the stampede that followed at a school's annual day function. 1500 people had gathered under a canopy in a function hall compound, the gates of which had been locked.A
February 23, 1997 - Baripada - Odisha
A fire that erupted at a sect leader's religious congregation and the stampede that followed left 206 people dead at Baripada on 23 February 1997, makes it the second most tragic fire mishap in terms of number of casualties. An additional 200 people suffered injuries in the stampede that followed when panicky devotees tried to escape the inferno.
April, 10 2006 - Meerut - Uttar Pradesh
A massive fire that swept through a consumer electronics fair here left 100 people dead in the month of April. A short circuit was identified as the cause of the fire which broke out in a long hall where hundreds of visitors were checking out electronic home appliances on display.
July 16, 2004 - Kumbakonam - Tamil Nadu
A fire that originated in a make-shift midday meal kitchen at a school led to 94 schoolchildren being charred to death. Flames from the kitchen leapt onto the thatched top of the first floor classroom where 200 students were present.
December, 9 2011 - Kolkata - West Bengal
A fire was triggered by an electrical short circuit in the building basement and the resulting fire and smoke spread to other areas of the AMRI Hospital, leaving 89 people dead. The spread of the fire was fuelled by inflammable materials that were stored in the hospital premises.
June 13, 1997 - Uphaar Cinema - Delhi
The horrendous incident took place during the screening of Bollywood movie 'Border'. 59 people lost their lives and more than 100 suffered serious injuries in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy.
September 5, 2012 - Sivakasi - Tamil Nadu
The deadly mishap was triggered by explosions that erupted when workers were mixing chemicals at a fireworks manufacture unit in Sivakasi. 54 people were killed and 78 injured in the fire that followed the explosions. The magnitude of the incident can be gauged from the fact that the series of explosions could be heard from almost two kilometers away.
January 23, 2004 - Srirangam - Tamil Nadu
A wedding function ended in tragedy when 50 people died and 40 were injured in a fire mishap at a marriage hall in Srirangam.
September 15, 2005 - Khusropur - Bihar
Fire caused by explosions that rocked three unauthorised firecracker manufacturing units led to 35 people losing their lives and 50 more suffering injuries.
( With inputs from IANS )