For the first time in the history of the Mumbai fire department, 97 young firewomen have been recruited in one go. Until now,  the city fire brigade had only 18 women personnel that worked at the Headquarters. However, the new batch will be spread across 34 fire stations.

The new recruits hail from rural parts of Maharashtra, including Sinnar in Nashik district, Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, etc. Currently, they are being trained in "smoke apparatus gallery", which simulates an actual fire situation. They will be inducted into the department next month. A total 0f 145 employees have been recruited.

Most of these women are graduates and postgraduates who have a passion to be in uniformed services. Many were gearing themselves to join the police force but applied here when they came to know of the vacancies. Kavita Gurule said she was keen to join the Army, but was unable to get through. When she heard of this opening, she immediately applied as she wanted to get into a service where she could serve her countrymen.

Chief fire officer P Rahangdale confirmed that it was the first time that such a large number of women had been hired. Stating that the women are in the final stages of their training, he said it is good to see their enthusiasm and readiness to take on the toughest tasks.