A tragic fire in the basement of a B&B in Malviya Nagar claimed 21 lives yesterday, including 17 foreign nationals. Early reports suggest the establishment was not affiliated with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and may not have held a valid fire NOC, raising serious questions about regulatory oversight and safety compliance. With limited exits and apparent lapses in basic precautions, the incident has once again exposed how quickly such spaces can turn dangerous.Firefighters douse a fire in a hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday (AP)In the middle of an unforgiving summer, when indoor dining and travel continue unabated, the tragedy raises a pressing question: how can consumers identify restaurants or hotels that are actually safe, and not just seemingly so?Many B&Bs run without fire NOCHighlighting the regulatory gap between hotels and B&Bs, Mohit Shah, General Secretary of the Delhi Hotel Association, says, “B&Bs are largely unregulated. Unlike hotels, they often don’t require the same compliances, such as fire NOCs or regular inspections. A property can start with a few rooms and expand significantly without informing authorities, whereas hotels must meet multiple regulatory and safety requirements. Basically if a property is not classified as a hotel, it can bypass many of these checks.”Don’t just rely on booking appsMohit Shah, general secretary, Delhi Hotel Association, on OTAs (Online travel agencies) and compliance: “In 2021, I was part of a stakeholder committee under the Home Ministry where we met major OTA platforms such as MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and EaseMyTrip. We urged them to verify licences before onboarding any property and ensure that only establishments with valid operational and safety clearances were listed. The platforms followed this practice for about a year, but unfortunately, that diligence appears to have weakened, allowing properties to register without all the required documentation.” While hotels disclose pricing, taxes and refund policies under consumer protection laws, there is currently no legal requirement to publish fire safety compliance details on their websites. To be extra cautious, Shah also recommends personally calling the hotels before booking to ensure they have the proper safety license.Things to checkLook for multiple exits: You should be able to spot a clear exit within 10 seconds of entering. If not, consider it a red flag. Avoid venues with only one entry-exit point.Check safety compliance: Check if the place has a fire NOC or recent safety audit. Lack of clarity is a warning sign.Spot the fire extinguishers: Ensure extinguishers are clearly visible and easy to access, especially CO2 extinguishers near electrical panels. It should not require a long walk during an emergency. Check the exterior for a bright red pipe: Before entering the property, check the exterior for a bright red pipe also called the Fire Department Connection (FDC) with two inlets. This allows fire engines to supply water directly to the building and indicates proper fire safety infrastructure is in place.Delhi restaurants step up fire safety measuresRinchen Wongdhen, a café owner in Majnu Ka Tila, shares, “We operate with three entry and exit points... That layout itself gives us multiple escape options in case of an emergency. We are training our staff on how to go about it, and conducting a full safety class this Sunday. Fire safety audits are usually done every six months. The last one was about five months ago, but we are restarting the entire process again.”Prriyam Chauhhan, founder of Raiya in Hauz Khas, stresses the importance of electrical safety. “Most short circuits happen at the electrical panel, so it’s critical to ensure the MCB can handle higher loads. We are also encouraging neighbouring restaurants to review safety measures collectively,” she says.Manik Kapoor, Director of Gola Sizzlers shares that the chain has recently conducted additional inspections of electrical systems, kitchen equipment, gas lines, and fire safety infrastructure. “We also regularly train staff on emergency response, evacuation procedures, and guest safety measures,” he adds.A representative of The Categorical Eat-Pham in Humayunpur says, “The incident is alarming, and everyone must do a thorough check. We conducted another fire safety audit and trained our staff, while ensuring all entry and exit points remain clutter-free.”