Skyscrapers on rise but fire departments can't reach beyond

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has approved 46 highrise projects that will stand above 40 metres tall, despite the fact that its firefighting team can only climb as high as 42 metres. According to a senior official in the NMC's town planning division, the city is currently experiencing a vertical growth that is restricted to 100 metres. The NMC's fire and emergency services department, which can aid in combating fires in structures up to 42 metres tall, is severely hampered by this. One of the fundamental needs of his department, according to chief fire officer B Chandankhede, is the hydraulic platform required to handle emergencies in highrise buildings. Only two turntable ladders and a hydraulic platform, with respective height limits of 42 and 32 metres, are available to the city's fire department for use in fighting fires.