Delhi’s fire department is operating with 71 fire stations for a population of over 3.3 crore – roughly one station for every 4.6 lakh residents. An internal DDMA document reviewed at a meeting on Monday found that even those 71 stations cannot be fully staffed. The department needs 9,123 additional personnel immediately just to operationalise its existing infrastructure. Of the 3,363 sanctioned posts in Delhi Fire Services, 74% of operational staff positions are currently vacant. 86% of leading fireman posts are empty. 20% of station officer posts are unfilled. The department is not understaffed at the margins – it is running on a fraction of the people it is supposed to have. The equipment situation is no different. DFS has four aerial ladder platforms against a requirement of 38 – an 89% deficit. These are the platforms used to rescue people from high-rise buildings. There is also a shortfall of 86 water tenders, 54 water bowsers, 57 multi-utility vehicles and 22 command-and-control vehicles. Of the existing fleet of 334 vehicles, only 260 are operational. 89 are awaiting repair. 15 are condemned and due for replacement. The DDMA document notes that Delhi’s density of 11,320 people per square kilometre makes fire spread extreme in unauthorised colonies. Response times already exceed the critical 4-minute window. Electrical overloading, illegal storage of inflammable materials and fire safety violations remain the leading causes of major blazes across the city. The shortages come at a time when Delhi Fire Services responds to more than 20,000 fire-related calls every year and the city records 250–300 fire deaths annually. The review was triggered by a fire that killed 22 people. The numbers suggest the challenges extend far beyond a single incident.
Source: The Indian Express
