NMC’s Fire Brigade facing the ‘heat’ of staff crisis

 

 

Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is struggling to make do with depleted strength owing to large number of vacancies that increased over the years owing to recruitment feeze. While within city, its tasks are being multiplied with passing time, on ‘n’ number of occasion the fire brigade has to rush outside city limits also to tackle big fires. So within the limited staff the force is being stretched beyond its limits and urgent steps are needed to address the situation, feels the experts.

 

As of today, F&ES has nine stations for which 611 posts are sanctioned. However, only 178 posts are filled while 433 posts are vacant and this is giving sleepless night to the force. With summer approaching, there is increasing worry among force on how to cope with the situation. During the season, the scorch is quite severe and city has history of raging big fire incidents and with depleted and over worked staff, the challenges are always going to be big for the force.

 

Civic body continued to defer decision about recruitment of fire extinguisher, the entry-level post, in fire brigade during last few years for one or the other reason. Perhaps rulers and administrators at Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) did not feel it that fire brigade should work with full strength as it was least among their priorities as more challenging situation were on hand during their respective time. The administrators who come for a fixed period of schedule had other priorities in mind and vacancies in fire brigade were regarded as non emergent ones. Another reason for no recruitment was the logjam created due to controversy over desired quantification. This deprived many of the deserving candidates with backing qualification a chance to serve in civic body’s fire brigade that further inflated the vacancies in fire brigade.

 

Due to manpower shortage, the existing force is now so over-loaded that one fireman is carrying out work of three to four persons. Apart from tackling fires, Fire Brigade also has to be on their toes during rainy season. From time to time many other emergencies arise and at that time too, force has to rush in and round the year working is slowly taking it toll on the manpower.

 

Since NMC’s fire fighting force is biggest in the region, they are routinely directed to rush outside the city limits to control fires in industrial belt. Even NMRDA, whose area is expanding quite rapidly does not have its own fire fighting force and here to NMC’s force has to step-in quite regularly.

 

The increasing physical work has also brought in mental stress as leaves are curtailed and hence force is increasingly demanding some break and bringing in additional manpower.

 

The situation has come to such a pass now that at many places the fire brigade is taking help of Aiwajdars, the is non-technical person and does not even know ABC of fire fighting, during dealing with emergencies that does not augur well for Nagpurians. A trained fire fighting and disaster response team is always necessary as one may never know.

 

Though now the confusion over recruitment norms is over, NMC has to immediately start the process. However sources said given the poor finances of civic body, Fire Brigade might have to adjust with current stressful conditions for time to come. Old timers in civic body have put forward a suggestion that just like police force, State Government should take over fire brigades under its wing and form a pan-State level agency. The advantage would be that civic bodies that have to defer decision on acquisition of latest machinery or deferring recruitment owing to need to keep tight lid on expenses, with State taking over salary component the force would always be ready for action and most importantly fighting fit.