City's security in hands of 13 trained, 100 untrained fire personnel

Aurangabad, March 1:

Believe it or not. The security of citizens is in the hands of 100 untrained personnel of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) Fire Brigade section. Of the total 113 personnel working in the section, the strength of trained fighters is just 13. The untrained staff is appointed on a contract basis. The AMC had not sent the staff for training since 2014, it is learnt.

The population of the city is around 17 lakhs. Every year between 1,500 and 2,000 fire incidents take place in the city and surrounding districts of the region. The fire brigade section is the first to receive the call, and acting upon the information, the firefighters reach the spot to cease the fire, save human lives and material loss.

It is learnt that the AMC had sent its many firefighters for training to Nagpur in the past, but the majority of them got retired, and only 13 trained personnel are working in the section. The posts of retired persons are lying vacant as the AMC has not conducted any recruitment in the fire brigade section for the past two decades. There are 43 sanctioned posts in the section, but 39 posts are lying vacant. Meanwhile, around 70 personnel appointed by AMC are contract workers.

Shortage of fund; equipment

The constructions of heightened buildings in the city are on the rise. However, there is an absence of adequate fire fighting equipment with AMC's fire section to douse the fire if the incident takes place on the fourth or fifth floor. The section even deprives of the state-of-the-art ladder to reach the above height during a fire emergency.

The fire section demands skilled and trained personnel. The AMC imparts training to fighters from Nagpur. However, for the past many years, the existing firefighters deprive of scientific training. As a result, the fighters do not have adequate knowledge of dousing the fire during the emergency and working in disaster management. The AMC is responsible for disaster management in four districts of Marathwada.

The fire brigade officer R K Sure said, " The state government had recently approved to fill up the vacant posts in the fire section. It had sanctioned 281 posts under the new staffing pattern. In the past, the section had sent personnel for training to Nagpur, but many of them got retired. After filling of new posts, the firefighters would be sent for training."

Total sanctioned posts

There is one sanctioned post of chief fire brigade officer; one tension officer; six super fire brigade officers (three posts vacant); seven chief firefighters; 13 driver/operators (five are vacant); five drivers (all are vacant); 33 fire jawans (18 are vacant), seven telephone operators (five are vacant) and two junior clerks (one is vacant). Meanwhile, the contractual employees working in fire section include 10 drivers, 52 fire jawans and five telephone operators.