Nagpur: As the city’s skyline rises with new high-rises and commercial complexes, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s firefighting system is dangerously stretched, battling a crippling manpower crisis that threatens its ability to respond effectively to emergencies.
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Fire Department, which is expected to serve the rapidly expanding city, is functioning with barely a fraction of its sanctioned workforce. Of the 872 posts approved for the department, only about 120 permanent firemen are currently deployed across 13 fire stations, leaving an alarming shortfall of 752 personnel.
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This staggering gap has emerged as the biggest operational bottleneck, severely hampering the department’s capability to respond swiftly during fires and other disasters.
Chief Fire Officer Tushar Barahate painted a grim picture of the situation, revealing that even though the department maintains 33 fire vehicles, it often lacks adequate manpower to deploy them during emergencies.
“This shortage has become a serious challenge for our firefighters,” Barahate admitted. “In situations where a standard response requires at least seven firemen, we are often forced to send just three. If an incident requires three fire engines, we frequently manage to dispatch only one from the nearest station and have to call the others from stations located far across the city.”
Driver shortage paralyses response
The crisis is particularly severe when it comes to drivers, a critical component in emergency deployment. In several stations, there is only one driver available. If a second emergency call comes in while the driver is already responding to another incident, the station is forced to wait helplessly until the driver returns, delaying the response time.
To somehow keep the system running round the clock, the department is currently relying on 53 contract-based firefighters and 83 interns, who assist the limited permanent staff in maintaining the 24-hour, three-shift emergency cycle.
350 recruitments proposed
A proposal seeking approval for recruitment to fill vacant posts is currently pending with the Government of Maharashtra. Once cleared, the fire department plans to recruit around 350 personnel, a move that officials believe will bring some relief to the overburdened workforce.
Commitment despite crisis
Despite operating under such severe constraints, the fire department continues to respond to emergencies across the city. Officials say mini fire tenders are often deployed in narrow lanes where larger vehicles cannot reach, while specially trained teams use a relay system of multiple pipelines to supply water to distant locations.
However, experts warn that such improvisations cannot compensate for the glaring shortage of manpower and infrastructure. The constant need to summon backup vehicles from distant stations even for routine emergencies underscores a troubling reality, the city’s firefighting backbone is operating under extreme strain.
Unless urgent administrative action is taken to strengthen the department with adequate recruitment and resources, Nagpur’s growing urban landscape may remain dangerously vulnerable when disaster strikes.
