Um, ok.
The Delhi Fire Service has 1,242 vacancies:
“Weather plays an important role. Extreme heat followed by strong winds play havoc,” said R.C. Sharma, the capital’s fire chief.
From April to June last year, the head of the Delhi Fire Service said the department got between 90 to 100 calls a day compared to a usual daily average of 35 to 40 calls.
And the number of fire incidents is increasing, to 21,000 last year compared to 16,000 cases in 2008. Most of them were electrical fires, with some of them taking place inside cars and buses whose engines overheated, according to the city’s fire department.
“There is no doubt that the cities lack the necessary wherewithal to fight the fire menace,” Mr. Sharma says.
He blames poor infrastructure, inadequate water facilities and a shortage of trained staff as the main reasons why fires in India become disasters.
New Delhi, a city of 14 million, has 51 fire stations and 2,500 firemen. (For contrast, the New York City fire department has more than four times as many firefighters to cover an area half the size of Delhi.)
“We currently have 1,242 vacancies and will add 19 fire stations in Delhi in the next few years,” said fire chief Mr. Sharma.
