Erandwane Fire Museum — Attraction in Pune

We visited the Erandwane Fire Museum (Keshavrao Jagtap Museum) which was opened in 2016. It is a two-story museum located in Erandwane, and is dedicated to the fire and rescue legacy of India. The museum has around 100 antique fire equipments, pictures and objects that were used in various rescue operations.

The museum houses the vintage Rolls-Royce Dennis fire brigade that was used in 1961 Panshet Dam rescue operations. The wooden racks boasts of a carefully curated collection of old rusty helmets, fire proximity suits and lamps that date back to early 1930s. We also saw an assortment of nozzles and how the designs evolved in the last 50 years. There was a hand-driven siren, British era fire rescue equipment, wireless sets, rescue belts, rubber boats, a ship raft, chemical suits, a body cooler suit and an aluminium asbestos suit in display. Some of the antiques have been sourced from fire departments across the country. Besides the fascinating collectibles, the white walls of the museum adorns photographs of various fire rescue missions in India. The photographs are supported with captions and history about these missions.

Normally there is a working fire truck in the compound but we were told that there was an emergency call in Kothrud and the firemen rushed to attend...

The two-storey fire and rescue museum is inspired by London’s Fire Brigade Museum. The idea of building a similar facility in the city struck LN Raut, former Chief Fire Officer during his training programme in England. The work and the rough plan began in 2001 and with the help of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporator Anila Rane’s contribution, the plan finally saw a concrete end.

The museum houses the vintage Rolls-Royce Dennis fire brigade that was used in 1961 Panshet Dam rescue operations. The wooden racks boasts of a carefully curated collection of old rusty helmets, fire proximity suits and lamps that date back to early 1930s. We also saw an assortment of nozzles and how the designs evolved in the last 50 years. There was a hand-driven siren, British era fire rescue equipment, wireless sets, rescue belts, rubber boats, a ship raft, chemical suits, a body cooler suit and an aluminium asbestos suit in display. Some of the antiques have been sourced from fire departments across the country. Besides the fascinating collectibles, the white walls of the museum adorns photographs of various fire rescue missions in India. The photographs are supported with captions and history about...

Erandwane Fire Museum, or Keshavrao Jagtap Museum, is a two-story museum located in Erandwane, and is dedicated to the fire and rescue legacy of India. It derives inspiration from London’s Fire Brigade Museum, and has a massive collection of equipment, pictures, and objects. The project of building a museum like this one had been underway since 2001, but was realised when a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporator, Anila Rane, gave  ₹1.40 crores to be utilised towards the development of the museum.

On the ground floor, it houses a famous Rolls-Royce fire truck that was used during the 1961 Panshet Dam rescue operations. The vehicle was used actively between 1956 to 1990 and is still well-maintained. The first floor has a collection of equipment such as ladders, nozzles, and different types of monitors used for water spraying. It also has an array of helmets including the big black helmets worn during the...