Last month, two fires were reported in Baglung bazar in Gandaki Province. Locals had to douse the blazes themselves as property worth millions were razed.

Fire engines should have been on standby 24 hours, said Laxmi Baskota, a resident of Baglung Municipality Ward No. 3. “The town neither has skilled firefighters nor fire engines available during an emergency,” said Baskota.

The fire engine, which the municipality bought five years ago, has been out of operation for the last six months for want of repair. The city recently spent Rs600,000 on repairs, but that wasn’t enough for the fire engines to resume services. “The fire engine we have can’t be operated because there’s a problem with its hose,” said Krishan Subedi, an official at the municipality.

It’s not just Baglung, municipalities across the Gandaki Province are ill-prepared to deal with conflagrations that become more frequent during the dry season. Most of the municipalities don’t have a single fire engine, and even those that have fire engines don’t have skilled firefighters to deal with blazes.

Chandra Bahadur Shrestha, a fire engine driver in Byas, said he has to be on stand-by for 24 hours as he’s the only firefighter in Tanahun district. “I am the only one fire engine driver here,” said Shrestha, adding that he is busy all the time.

Last year, 42 houses were completely destroyed in a fire in Dhorpatan Municipality. As the municipality didn’t have a fire engine, locals, who had to wait for help from the army, couldn’t douse the fire in time.

Burtibang and Galkot bazaar also lack fire engines. A few months ago, property worth Rs 10 million was destroyed in a fire at Hatiya in Galkot. Birjung Bhandari, chairman of Galkot Ward No. 3, said locals had no option but to douse the fire themselves. “The municipality prioritises the procurement of a fire engine,” said Bhandari, referring to problems locals face to contain fires.

In Lamjung, most of the local units don’t have fire engines. Out of eight local units, only Besisahar Municipality has a fire engine. Lokraj Pandey, chief at the District Coordination Committee, said every local unit should make a plan to control fires. “There should be a fire engine in all local units. It’s crucial for city areas,” said Pandey.