The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) conducted a mock drill simulating a bomb-like explosion and fire at its headquarters on Tuesday, testing the response of fire, police, disaster management, health and electrical departments during a coordinated emergency exercise.
The drill began at 3.55 pm, when the fire brigade received an alert about the simulated incident at the civic body’s main building. Fire brigade teams from Kasba and Erandwane were dispatched, along with additional vehicles, including a high-rise ladder unit and a rescue van.
Firefighters found a simulated fire on the second floor, with employees reported to be trapped inside. Four employees were rescued using a fireman’s lift and shifted to hospital, while five other injured people were evacuated as part of the exercise. The entire building was also evacuated.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Prajit Nair and other officials and citizens stranded on the terrace were rescued using the high-rise ladder. The Shivajinagar police, bomb detection and disposal squad, and dog squad searched the building during the exercise, adding a security-response component to the fire and rescue operation.
According to the drill timeline, the first fire brigade vehicles reached the headquarters at 4 pm, five minutes after the alert was received. The rescue operation was completed by 4.09 pm, and the simulated fire was brought under control by 4.15 pm. The high-rise ladder rescue was completed by 4.20 pm, while the exercise concluded at 4.35 pm.
The mock drill was held as part of the observance of World Disaster Risk Reduction Day. Its structure brought together multiple civic and emergency-response functions, including evacuation, fire suppression, medical assistance, building searches and rescue from an elevated location.
After the exercise, Nair commended the fire brigade and police teams, saying that such drills help authorities identify operational gaps and take corrective measures. Chief Fire Officer Ganesh Sonune thanked the fire brigade, police, security, disaster management, health and electrical departments for coordinating the exercise.
The PMC has not disclosed any separate findings or corrective-action report from the drill in the information available. The exercise concluded after the simulated fire, evacuation, search and rescue operations were completed.
