Several firecracker stalls operating across Pune during the Diwali season have been found without essential fire-safety equipment, prompting the Pune Municipal Corporation fire department to share a list of non-compliant vendors with the civic body’s encroachment department for action.
The fire department said many stalls did not have fire extinguishers, buckets of sand, water arrangements or fire blankets, all of which are required for the safe storage and sale of firecrackers. The findings raise an immediate safety concern because the temporary stalls are operating in public areas during a period of increased demand for fireworks.
According to the report, some stalls had been constructed using cloth, tarpaulin and wooden materials. These materials can increase the risk of fire spreading within a temporary retail cluster, particularly where fire-safety equipment is absent. The inspection also found that the required distance between two stalls, as well as the prescribed separation from residential buildings, was not being maintained at several locations.
The fire-safety requirements apply under the Explosives Act, 1884, the amended Explosives Rules, 2008, and the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006. Vendors selling and storing firecrackers are required to comply with the relevant provisions while setting up and operating their stalls.
The fire department said stall operators had already been issued compulsory written instructions. Despite those directions, violations were observed at multiple locations. The department has therefore provided the encroachment department with a list of firecracker stall operators allegedly violating the rules, with action expected against them.
Ganesh Sonawane, chief fire and disaster management officer of the PMC, said the vendors must take responsibility for their own safety as well as that of others. His statement places the issue within the civic administration’s wider responsibility to regulate temporary commercial structures in densely occupied urban areas.
For residents, the immediate concern is not limited to the sale of fireworks. The location of stalls, their construction material, the distance from homes and the availability of basic firefighting equipment all influence how quickly a small incident could be controlled. The fire department’s observations indicate that these conditions were not being met consistently across Pune.
The next step identified by the civic authorities is action through the encroachment department against the listed non-compliant stall operators. The fire department has also indicated that vendors must follow the applicable safety rules while storing and selling firecrackers during the festive period.
