Fire Safety Lapses in Pune: PMC Serves Notices on About 500 Establishments, Including Coaching Classes

These inspections covered private coaching classes and other establishments in the city. Punekar News named Chief Fire Officer Ganesh Sonune, and reported that the PMC commissioner ordered the action.

Below are the lapses Punekar News reported:

• Large numbers of students in limited floor space
• Too few emergency exits for the people inside
• Premises built under a building permission and later put to commercial use without the separate approval that use requires

These lapses matter most in an evacuation. PMC has said there is no room for compromise on evacuation safety where premises hold many students.

According to Punekar News, the inspection checks four things:

• Availability of emergency exits
• Fire-fighting equipment on the premises
• Whether that equipment works and can be reached
• Its regular maintenance and inspection

PMC has made it clear that installed equipment counts only if it works when needed.

To learn more about fire-fighting equipment in detail, please read our article: Active Fire Protection System: Importance, Types, Laws in India.

The drive began on Friday, 18 September, as per Punekar News. PMC Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram ordered what The Times of India calls a safety audit of PGs, hostels, educational institutions and coaching centres. The order followed recent fires in Delhi, Mumbai, Amravati and elsewhere.

The Times of India and Punekar News name three departments involved: the fire brigade, the building permission department and the anti-encroachment department.

Below are the rounds reported in the first four days by The Times of India, Punekar News and The Free Press Journal:

The Times of India and Punekar News put the first three days at 67 premises. They were 45 PGs and hostels, 13 coaching centres and 9 others. Across these reported rounds, 41 premises were sealed or shut and 36 received show-cause notices.

By 22 September, Punekar News reported action against 129 establishments in five days. They ranged from PG hostels and coaching classes to schools, colleges, hospitals, hotels and scrap godowns.

The violations covered far more than fire equipment. Below are the main ones The Times of India reported, with details from Punekar News and The Free Press Journal:

• No fire-fighting system, permanent or temporary
• Missing permissions, such as zoning, building, drainage, water supply and structural clearances, property tax registration and the fire NOC (No Objection Certificate)
• Several coaching centres without two separate exit doors, marked emergency exits, fire-fighting equipment, or safe staircases and passages
• Poor drainage and narrow access roads
• Scrap units holding large stocks of combustible waste in sheet structures in residential areas, some without proper electricity connections or building permits

In Lohegaon, inspectors found over 100 students living in three to four storey buildings. The students said their colleges had referred them there.

Officials added that most of these premises are rented, which makes oversight harder.

Some PGs, hostels and study centres took down their names and signboards during the inspections, as per The Free Press Journal. Chief Fire Officer Ganesh Sonune said such premises would still be traced and acted against.

To learn more about escape routes and the other elements of fire safety, please read our article: What is Fire Safety? Laws, Importance, Key Elements.

PMC has set out what follows the inspections. The Times of India reported these steps from the September rounds:

• FIRs (First Information Reports) against unauthorised establishments, and sealing of premises that break safety norms
• Criminal action against property owners who run unauthorised PGs and similar premises
• Possible action against educational institutions that referred students to such premises
• Reopening only after full compliance

Punekar News reported that Chief Fire Officer Ganesh Sonune also warned of criminal cases against owners of non-compliant PGs, coaching classes, schools and hospitals.

On 21 September, The Times of India reported that the fire brigade would keep inspecting schools, colleges, PGs, hostels and hospitals. Establishments were told to keep their fire-fighting systems working and maintained. In a post on X, the commissioner said the drive would continue until every defaulter is identified, with student safety as the priority.

On 22 September, The Free Press Journal reported that violators had seven days to submit their documents and comply. The same day, Punekar News reported that Sonune had told fire officers to step up inspections in their areas.

Each station officer was told to conduct at least 20 inspections a day and send a daily report with photographs. The report added that the fire brigade plans to move fire-related permissions online.

For the roughly 500 notices, Punekar News reported penal action under the applicable rules if lapses remain after seven days. Serious violations could bring legal action and licence cancellation. The corporation has also said it will physically check that each lapse has been fixed, rather than stop at the notice.

It depends on the building's height and use. The Times of India describes the PMC action as a fire safety and civic compliance drive. The two-yearly Fire & Life Safety Audit is a separate legal duty.

The duty comes from Section 45A of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention & Life Safety Measures Act, 2006 (Amendment 2023). The Act works as follows:

• Who it covers: Buildings above 30 metres in height used as hotels, hospitals, business or IT offices, malls or commercial complexes, or mixed-occupancy buildings.
• Who conducts the audit: Only a Licensed Fire & Life Safety Auditor authorised by the Directorate of Maharashtra Fire & Emergency Services. PowerTech, for example, holds licence MF&ES/F&LSA/0029.
• Who is responsible: The building owner, or the occupier or management where the owner is not available.
• How often: Once every two years.
• What document needs to be submitted: A Certificate of Compliance from the licensed auditor, for the Director of Maharashtra Fire Services, the Chief Fire Officer or the Nominated Officer.
• Everyone else: Buildings outside this list, such as a three or four storey PG, fall outside the Section 45A mandate. The PMC drive shows they are still inspected.

Other documents sit alongside the audit. Under Section 3(3) of the same Act, the owner or occupier of a building it covers furnishes certificates from a Licensed Agency to the Chief Fire Officer or the nominated officer. Form A certifies the installed fire measures, and Form B certifies their upkeep twice a year, in January and July.

A fire NOC is a third document. The fire authority issues it for a building at the plan stage, on completion or occupation, and on renewal. Missing fire NOCs were among the violations in the September rounds.

Note that thresholds and forms are set under the Act and its Rules, and they get amended. Check the current rules before relying on a summary.

Owners can check most of what inspectors looked for before an inspection takes place. Below are those checks, plus two steps that go beyond them:

• Match the exits to the number of people: Several coaching centres had no second exit door, and crowding with too few exits was the main concern in October. Keep every exit and staircase clear and open while the premises is in use.
• Check that the equipment works: Read the service tag on every extinguisher, and the pressure gauge where there is one. Keep each one clear of furniture and stock, so it can be reached in seconds.
• Keep the maintenance records ready: Inspectors also ask whether the equipment is maintained and inspected on a regular basis. A dated service record shows the routine. It backs up working equipment and cannot stand in for it.
• Keep the approvals and the fire NOC on file: Inspectors asked for building permissions, structural and drainage clearances and the fire NOC. Commercial use without its own approval was also among the findings. Check that every approval covers the way the premises is used now.
• Have the electrical installation checked: The Free Press Journal reported that authorised electricity supply was among the issues inspectors cited. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has put 70 to 80% of the fires in Mumbai down to faulty electrical connections. An electrical safety audit inspects the cables and the earthing system with calibrated instruments.
• Book a fire safety audit at the right time: The right time is before an inspection, a fire NOC application or renewal, a change of use, or a rise in the number of occupants. An independent audit lists each gap against the applicable code clause, with corrective actions in priority order.

PowerTech has conducted 1,200+ energy and safety audits since 2014, including 100+ fire safety audits. The firm is headquartered in Pune, with offices in Mumbai and Nashik. We are a Licensed Fire & Life Safety Auditor, authorised by the Directorate of Maharashtra Fire & Emergency Services under licence MF&ES/F&LSA/0029.

Our fire safety audit covers escape routes and fire doors, extinguishers, detection and alarm, and the electrical installation for fire risk. It also reviews the building's fire NOC status.

We offer the following audit and compliance services:

• Fire Safety Audit
• Form B Certification
• Fire NOC Support
• Electrical Safety Audit
• Energy Audit
• Thermography Audit
• Earth Pit Testing
• Power Quality Audit & Harmonic Study
• Energy Saving Contracts on BOT Model

Get In Touch

Share the building's type, height, use and location, with any PMC notice or fire NOC papers. We will go over the site on a short call, then send a scope of work with commercial terms. A qualified auditor named on our licence conducts the audit in person and signs the certificate.

Book a fire safety audit to find the fire safety gaps to close before an inspection.

This report draws on the following coverage:

1. Punekar News, 19 September 2026: https\://www.punekarnews.in/?p=245282
2. The Times of India, 21 September 2026: https\://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/13-pgs-7-scrap-shops-shut-after-failing-pmcs-fire-safety-checks/articleshow/134374206.cms
3. Punekar News, 21 September 2026: https\://www.punekarnews.in/?p=245370
4. The Free Press Journal, 22 September 2026: https\://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/pune-pmc-shuts-10-pgs-in-viman-nagar-during-fourth-day-of-fire-safety-drive
5. Punekar News, 22 September 2026: https\://www.punekarnews.in/?p=245454
6. Punekar News, 5 October 2026: https\://www.punekarnews.in/fire-safety-lapses-found-at-pune-coaching-classes-500-establishments-get-notices/
7. The Indian Express, 18 January 2019: https\://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-70-to-80-fires-due-to-faulty-electrics-says-bmc-5543949/