Congested lanes, lack of water, delay in reporting cases: What hampers Delhi’s fire rescue efforts

“The biggest risk factor is that most of the time, we don’t know the strength or age of the buildings we are going in for rescues. Secondly, we often don’t know how many people are occupying a building,” he says. Citing the example of makeshift factories, Garg said it is difficult to ascertain if workers have been using the premises as their living quarters as well, making it difficult for firemen to determine how many people need to be rescued.

The DFS is 84 years old: it was set up in 1942 when two existing fire stations — each run by Delhi Municipal Committee and New Delhi Municipal Committee then – were merged. By 1952, The Connaught Place Fire station – now DFS headquarters – was operational. The use of radio communication for fighting fires in the city started in 1954. Today, the DFS operates 66 fire stations, including three day stations. It has 3,632 personnel, among them 3,312 involved in fire dousing and rescue operations in an area spread across 1,484 square kilometres. The number of firemen is, however, 2,300. On the ground, there is one fire man for 7,299 people in Delhi. The DFS says it is responding to 22,000 fire and rescue calls on an average year.

The number of fire stations spread across Delhi

In 2022, DFS responded to 31,958 fire and rescue calls – highest in 15 years. There were 1,029 deaths in fire in that year — also the highest recorded since 2009. Around 2,193 people were injured in the fire incidents.

DFS Chief Garg says that the other major challenge that they face is “lack of water resources or reservoirs”.

“Sometimes, our trucks have to go to far-off distances to refill their tanks and come back to continue fighting the fire,” he adds.

Although, with the metro coming up, the pressure of lack of water resources has lifted slightly from the fire services. “The metro is duty-bound to provide its water resources to us in times of emergencies,” explains Assistant Divisional Officer Somvir Singh, citing a recent example of a fire in a wedding banquet in Kalkaji which was doused using the water resources available in Okhla NSIC metro station. However in far-flung areas where the metro is still a distant dream, he says, having a steady source of water remains a difficulty.

According to DFS, the Service came under Delhi government in 1994. Until then, it was an arm of the Municipality.

Delay in reporting fires also remains a big challenge for the DFS. “Many people hesitate before getting involved with police authorities, fearing they could get in trouble instead,” the DFS chief says. “At times, people also try dousing the fire themselves. We say time and again, during a fire, call us. Leave the work to us.”

The DFS says that 22 of its firemen have lost their lives on duty since 1983. The last time DFS had a casualty during an operation was at Bhorgarh in 2021 when a fireman lost his life when a building collapsed on him.

DFS sources revealed that they face a severe shortage of staff, with 70% of Station Officer posts going vacant.

Apart from dousing the fire and responding to rescue calls, the DFS has also been combating pollution in the city. Last year, DFS sprayed 95,25,000 litres of water over a 304-kilometre stretch in Delhi.

The DFS has also set up temporary fire stations in Geetanjali, Jasola, and Yamuna Vihar to improve its response to a call in the area.