Faridabad Fire Department in a shambles

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, September 2

The Fire Department office in the NIT zone here is functioning from a building which was declared unsafe 10 years ago.

A part of the Haryana Fire and Emergency Services, the department is also facing staff crunch and poor infrastructure.

No major repairs made in 30 yrs

It is ironic that the employees whose job is to rush to help residents in case of emergency, are not confident about their own safety. Two of three blocks of the building are crumbling as no major repairs have been made in three decades. An employee

Only 16 fire tenders available

As the department has only 16 fire tenders, it has to seek help from the fire stations of nearby cities or private companies in case of a major fire incident. The department also does not have a hydraulic platform for high-rise buildings. Satinder Singh, Defence official (retd)

“Built in 1962, the building was declared condemned by the officials of the PWD in 2012. Despite that, the offices in the building are functional, putting the staff and machinery at risk,” said sources in the department.

“It is ironic that the employees whose job is to rush to help residents in case of emergency, are not confident and is scared about their own safety,” said an employee, adding: “Two of three blocks of the building, which has about 15 rooms, are crumbling as no major repairs have been made in three decades.”

The cement and plaster of walls and ceiling was also peeling, posing a threat of injury to the staff of around 20 employees, the official said, adding that the peeled plaster often falls on the roof of the vehicles in the parking space.

“Majority of the rooms of the building have turned obsolete and are lying unused for more than a decade,” it is claimed.

Besides, according to sources, the department is also facing acute shortage of staff and machinery.

Against the need of about 150 to 200 personnel, the four fire stations have a staff of just 29 employees for three shifts.

It is reported that two of the new fire stations built in Sector 25 and 69 have failed to get operational in wake of non-availability of staff for the two years.

As the department has only 16 fire tenders to attend to a population of 29 lakh, it has to seek help from the fire stations of nearby cities or private companies in case of a major fire incident.

“With no hydraulic platform for high-rise buildings, the need of having a fire brigade office in Greater Faridabad is yet to be attended to,” said Satinder Singh a retired defence official.

Satyawan Samriwal, Additional Divisional Fire Officer, said the demand of more staff and machinery, such as the hydraulic platform, had already been raised with the higher authorities.