A Pune Municipal Corporation fire department mock drill briefly triggered concern at the civic headquarters on Tuesday after residents and staff heard loud explosion-like sounds and sirens, before officials clarified that the sounds were part of an emergency-response exercise.
The drill was conducted at around 4pm to assess how quickly the civic emergency system could respond to a simulated disaster. Fire personnel demonstrated search, evacuation and rescue procedures while different floors of the municipal headquarters were cleared as part of the exercise.
The exercise was organised around the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. According to the report, the purpose was to assess the speed of the emergency response, the time required for rescue operations and the coordination between departments during a crisis.
Firecrackers producing loud sounds were used to create the impression of an emergency. Sirens were then activated and fire brigade personnel began demonstrations of search and rescue operations. The drill included several stages, from the initial loud sounds and evacuation of floors to the simulated search and removal of people from the building.
The exercise was not announced in advance. As a result, the sounds and sirens initially caused confusion inside the headquarters, with people trying to understand whether an actual incident had taken place. The situation was clarified later when officials confirmed that the activity was a planned disaster-management exercise rather than a real emergency.
PMC Additional Commissioner Pavneet Kaur said the exercise was conducted without prior notice as a preparedness check. The unannounced format was intended to assess the readiness of emergency personnel and the time taken to respond when a crisis appears to develop suddenly.
The drill lasted approximately 15 minutes. During that period, the fire department assessed the response of emergency teams, the speed of evacuation and the coordination required to carry out search and rescue operations inside the headquarters.
The exercise also provided a live demonstration of the procedures expected during an emergency at a busy civic building. The PMC headquarters houses multiple departments and regularly sees the movement of officials, employees and visitors, making evacuation and interdepartmental coordination important components of emergency preparedness. The fire department’s next steps, including any formal assessment or changes to procedures after the drill, were not stated in the report.
