The very department that protects Nagpur from flames is now burning under its own crisis. The city’s Fire and Emergency Services Department is battling a severe manpower shortage — with just 13 firemen left to run 13 fire stations after 57 temporary staff were discontinued last month.
The temporary firemen were appointed during the monsoon to handle emergencies, but their contracts ended on October 26. Despite a proposal sent to Municipal Commissioner Dr. Abhijeet Chaudhari to extend their tenure, the request wasn’t approved. Now, the department operates with just 124 permanent staff, 55 contract workers, and 60 sanitation employees borrowed from the Solid Waste Management wing.
A senior officer admitted the situation is “beyond alarming.” Each fire station must run 24×7 with 15–20 personnel per shift, but most now operate with just two or three. A single fire tender requires at least six to eight crew members, yet many vehicles remain idle due to a shortage of both staff and drivers — only ten are currently available.
The crisis was exposed during the Bhandewadi dumping yard fire, where the blaze raged for days and even destroyed a fire tender.
A recruitment process for 350 posts has stalled for over a year due to technical disputes over physical standards for women candidates. As incidents rise across high-rise zones, exhausted firefighters say they’re left relying only on “hope and luck” — praying no major fire strikes the city.
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