Delhi to get 700 new firefighters in boost for critical service

Officials said the new appointments will help improve efficiency and timely deployment of firefighters

After battling acute shortage of personnel for four years, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) will finally get 700 new firefighters next month for its 64 stations across the city, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

According to data provided by the fire department, the fire control room receives 90 calls per day on average. (HT Archive)

The joining will take the strength of DFS personnel to 3,500. The department was battling staffing concerns — DFS director Atul Garg said there were 1,000 vacancies in the department. It took four years to fill them due to the “long selection process”, Garg said.

The new appointments will help improve efficiency and timely deployment of firefighters, he added.

“We had a vacancy of 1,000 people and acute shortage of men. Therefore, this move will help us be more efficient and work a lot more than what we already do. It took four years for them to join because the process of selection is long,” said the DFS director.

According to data provided by the fire department, the fire control room receives 90 calls per day on average. About 40 men are deployed at each fire station who respond to these calls. “Some fire stations receive more calls than others. For instance, some parts of central and east Delhi usually witness more fire incidents because of the demography of the place. Firefighters are sometimes deployed based on which area receives more calls,” said a fire official, asking not to be named.

Applicants need to take a written exam, followed by a physical test for those clearing the first step. A driving test is then taken, passing which appointment letters are issued. They then have to undergo a medical test. “Sometimes, during background checks, legal issues with some applicants crop up and they are needed to be addressed. The whole process takes time. Hence, the delay,” the official said.

Another significant reason, the official said was the disruption caused by the Covid-19-induced lockdowns in 2020. The pandemic halted the process for almost a year and then slowed it down for another year, officials said.

But, with the hiring of new firefighters, the situation on ground is likely to improve, Garg said.

“For instance, we need to send 10 fire tenders to a spot, but due to the staff crunch, sometimes we were able to send only four at a time. Now, this is unlikely to happen,” he said.

DFS has over 200 fire tenders and 50 special vehicles, according to officials..

The department will also be able to conduct other activities such as awareness campaigns, cleanliness drives, and inspections. Besides, it will also be able to send their existing resources for advance training.

“Now that we’ll have more people, we can send the existing men for training to learn new technologies and new ways of fire fighting,” Garg added.