Major forest fire on Sus Gaon hill in Pune quelled after all-night op; no casualties reported

The forest department is investigating the cause behind the fire that broke out on a hill in Pune’s Sus Gaon.

Fire officials said that as fire tenders and water tankers could not make their way up to the hilltop, personnel used fire bats and water to manually douse the flames. (Express photo)

Hours after a major forest fire was reported on a hill in Pune’s Sus Gaon on Thursday night, officials said on Friday that the blaze had been brought under control following an all-night firefighting operation. No casualties were reported in the incident.

According to the Pune Fire Brigade, its control room received a call regarding a fire on a hill on Sus Road around 10.15 pm. Soon, Pune and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority fire brigade teams rushed to the spot. Forest department officials also joined the fire brigade teams.

Fire officials said that as fire tenders and water tankers could not make their way up to the hilltop, personnel used fire bats and water to manually douse the flames.

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“The fire had spread over a huge area and at different spots on the hill. It was not easy to reach some areas and we also had limited manpower but with the help of citizens, activists and the fire brigade, the situation was brought under control manually,” Mangesh Tate, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Pune division, said.

The forest department is investigating the cause behind the fire.

In the last two months, 54 incidents of forest and grass fires were reported in Pune in January and 141 cases in February, fire brigade personnel said.

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