PCMC fire brigade puts its seven senior officers on rotating night duty

Pimpri Chinchwad, November 4, 2026: The fire brigade of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has started a rotating night-duty roster for its seven officers. The step was taken after a concern was raised that none of the seven had been assigned night shifts.

Until now, when a major fire or another emergency broke out during the day, fire brigade officers reached the spot. At night, however, the situation was different. When a major incident occurred, no senior officer was present to supervise the response or guide the firefighters.

The issue was raised by Deputy Commissioner Venkatesh Durvas, who is in charge of the fire department. He drew attention to the gap.

The contrast with the police is clear. In the police, officers of deputy commissioner rank are on night patrol so that they can reach any major incident immediately and guide their staff. The fire brigade had no such arrangement.

The concern was made more serious by the fact that 150 new firefighters have recently joined the fire brigade. They have been trained in firefighting but do not have much experience in the field. If they did not get guidance from senior officers during a major emergency, there was a risk of mistakes.

With this in view, Durvas has now assigned night duty to all seven officers by turns. As a result, when a major emergency occurs at night, officers will be able to go to the spot and guide the firefighters.

A fire broke out recently in two shops near Shagun Chowk in Pimpri. Officer Gautam Ingawale was present at the site.

Durvas said, "Fire department officers have been given night duty by turns. This will ensure that officers are present at every major incident and can guide the fire brigade personnel."