Three fire stations in the city which were constructed more than a year ago, have adequate infrastructure, equipment and vehicles in place, but lack neded workforce. Due to inadequate manpower in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Fire and Emergency Services Department, these stations remain idle. A severe manpower shortage in the NMC’s Fire Department has kept the established fire stations at Pachpaoli, Wathoda and Pardi non-functional as the city continues to expand and so do its fire-safety needs. The shortage of trained personnel has emerged as the biggest hurdle in operationalising these fire stations. The department requires firemen, drivers, leading officers and other personnel to run each station and respond to emergencies with complete teams. However, the existing manpower is already stretched across the operational stations.

 

According to the sources, a fire station requires around 15 personnel or more, including firemen, drivers and leading officers. The shortage is particularly serious during emergency situations. The current status of the Fire Department is that if a team of around six personnel is required for a fire response, a team of a couple of personnel could be deployed. Sometimes fire brigades from fire stations of the adjoining areas are called. An official said, “The department needs more manpower. Out of 872 sanctioned posts, the Fire Department currently operates with around 119 to 125 permanent employees and officers.

 

Without more hands, managing things is extremely difficult as we face this difficulty on daily basis.” However, the department has completed the process of recruitment of 100 trainee firemens on contractual basis for six months. Officials point out that merely adding personnel will not immediately solve the crisis as the department needs more trained personnel for the stations to function as complete operational units. Whereas, these contractual trainee firemens will be deployed in the existing ten fire stations from September 15. The manpower crunch is also affecting the functioning of existing infrastructure. Lakadganj Fire Station, which is currently under construction, has been temporarily shifted to Juna Bagadganj, while Ganjipeth Fire Station has also been shifted temporarily to a school at Gadikhana, Maha Nagar Palika School, during construction.

 

The Kalamna fire station has additional facilities such as a training centre, hostel, mess and swimming pool, with fire-fighting training linked to the State Fire Academy, Mumbai. With three new stations awaiting manpower, the issue is no longer merely about adding fire stations to the city’s network. Unless adequate trained personnel are deployed, the infrastructure cannot translate into quicker emergency response or stronger fire protection for residents. For a city witnessing rapid expansion, the continuing manpower gap could leave crucial fire-fighting capacity unavailable when it is needed the most.