A 1 am blaze at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra, on 31 May 2016 ruptured 20,000 defective anti‑tank mines and killed 15 firefighters and two army officers.
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s audit, released in May 2015, warned that eight depots suffered a 50% shortfall in trained firefighting staff and a 66% deficit in essential equipment, leaving them vulnerable to accidental fires.
Depot guidelines authorize fire crews to tackle a blaze only while it remains confined to a single shed, a rule that has repeatedly faltered during summer outbreaks, according to Army Chief Manoj P. S. Nair.
Swadeshi Empresa’s FF Bot, a remotely operated firefighting vehicle, has earned DGQA certification and been codified in the national inventory, a fact confirmed by Defence Procurement Officer K. V. Ramachandran.
The Army will deploy FF Bot units across all eight depots by September 2026, with a maintenance contract covering spare parts, said Army spokesperson Ajay Gupta.
The family of 12‑year‑old Vijay, a civilian firefighter who perished in the inferno, recalls the thick smoke and the last moments before the fire spread beyond the shed.