Hyderabad, June 3 -- Telangana witnessed a sharp rise in fire accidents during the first five months of 2026, with fire services responding to 7,570 incidents between January and May, compared to 5,656 cases during the corresponding period last year.

The increase of 1,914 incidents represents a 33.8 per cent jump year-on-year, a report by TOI said.

Careless smoking leading cause of fire

The report further stated that according to official data, careless smoking and the improper disposal of cigarette butts continued to be the leading cause of fires across the state. Such incidents rose to 3,991 this year from 2,886 in the same period of 2025, marking an increase of more than 38 per cent.

Electrical short circuits remained the second mo...