Gurugram’s fire department on Tuesday continued efforts to douse a massive fire that spread across over a thousand yards on a vacant government plot in Sector 47, even as officials warned of a surge in such incidents during the peak waste-burning season from April to July.
Five fire tenders were deployed, officials said, adding that rising temperatures, improper disposal of cigarettes, and reflective materials often trigger fires in waste.
A senior fire department official, requesting anonymity, said fire calls are expected to rise to 100–150 per day during peak summer months.
“Around 20-22 fire tenders and rescue vehicles will remain deployed at main stations in Sector 29 and Manesar, seven to eight at Bhim Nagar, Sector 37 and Udyog Vihar stations and around four to five at sub-stations in Sohna and Pataudi,” the official cited above said.
Jai Narayan, fire safety officer at Sector 29 fire station, said inter-station coordination and additional refilling points are being planned. “Resident welfare associations should also keep a vigil… Special awareness drives will be conducted during the National Fire Safety week from April 14 to 20,” Narayan added.
Ravinder Yadav, additional commissioner of MCG, said an MoU has been signed with WRI India to implement a “zero waste burning model”. “An action plan will be prepared… to reduce waste burning over the next two years,” Yadav said.
Fire department data, assessed by HT, showed 75 waste fire incidents were reported between January and March this year.
In 2025, a total of 623 waste fires were recorded, with IMT Manesar reporting 189 cases, followed by Sector 29 (174), Bhim Nagar (70), and Sector 37 (54). Another senior official said, “Nearly 80% of waste fires in 2025 were reported from areas under these four stations, accounting for 487 incidents out of 3,538 fires.”
A senior Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) official said four major blazes were reported in 2025, while nine incidents occurred at the landfill containing 1.7 million metric tonnes of legacy waste.
“The fire was contained within ten minutes,” said Sandeep Sihag, executive engineer, referring to a February incident after which two fire tenders were deployed at the site. Sihag said firefighting infrastructure at the landfill includes 46 fire cylinders, sandbags, air-compression equipment, tractor-mounted sprinklers, and 29 CCTV cameras.