Nagpur, India: Despite the opening of two new fire stations in Nagpur, they are often underutilized due to severe staffing shortages. Instead of operating around the clock in three shifts as intended, they are currently functional only from 10 am to 6 pm.

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is struggling to staff the new fire stations adequately, with only one fire tender and one sub-officer assigned to each.

The new fire stations are being staffed by trainees from the Regional Fire Training Centre in Kalamna. With these additions, Nagpur now has 11 fire stations, but the department is critically understaffed. It currently has only 145 fire personnel, far below the number needed to run all stations effectively.

 A proposal to hire 350 new personnel to staff nine fire stations has been prepared, but the recruitment process has been delayed for the past six months, awaiting approval from the Urban Development Department.

With the addition of the two new fire stations, the required number of staff has risen to 470. Although the Maharashtra Fire Service Academy in Mumbai has recommended changes to the physical requirements for female candidates, the proposal remains unapproved.

Officials caution that if the Urban Development Department does not approve the recruitment file soon, it will become increasingly difficult to operate the fire stations at full capacity.

The staffing issue is further compounded by the fact that the fire department has been functioning without a permanent head, with the position temporarily filled. Additionally, the NMC administration has been slow to promote qualified officers, limiting the leadership available to oversee the stations.