As Nagpur’s skyline rapidly expands with vertical infrastructure, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Fire Department is aggressively upgrading its firefighting arsenal. In a major move to counter potential fire emergencies in high-rise buildings, the Department has formally proposed the procurement of a Hydraulic Platform vehicle boasting a 90-metre ladder height. According to the Chief Fire Officer, Tushar Barahate, this ambitious procurement process is estimated to take nearly one year to finalise. Meanwhile, a separate, advanced 70-metre Hydraulic Platform tender has already been acquired and is currently undergoing official RTO registration, a process expected to wrap up within the next 10 days. The push for a 90-metre platform comes at a critical time. The city’s tallest structural footprint currently stands at approximately 110 metres. When questioned about the operational gap regarding blazes that might break out above the 90-metre mark, the Chief Fire Officer clarified that the strategy relies heavily on architectural accountability. It is absolutely mandatory for all newly-constructed high-rise buildings to fortify and maintain their internal, in-built firefighting systems.

 

These built-in mechanisms serve as the first line of defense, allowing firefighters to hook into internal water lines and effectively control fire spreads at extreme heights. The officer noted that urban growth cannot be halted, and high-rise developments are inevitable. Even Mumbai, which possesses one of the strongest firefighting frameworks in the country, caps its highest hydraulic ladders between 100 and 110 metres. Currently, the NMC Fire Department manages an operational fleet of 33 vehicles for fire emergencies. The existing fleet comprises 10 small fire tenders with a 2,000-litre capacity, 2 medium tenders with a 3,000-litre capacity, 14 heavy-duty fire tenders with a 5,000-litre capacity, and 7 high-capacity water bowsers capable of carrying 16,000 litres each. The addition of the 70-metre and proposed 90-metre hydraulic units will significantly elevate Nagpur’s readiness against complex urban fire disasters.