Muktsar battles shortage of staff to run fire tenders

MUKTSAR: Even as most fire departments in the district have fire tenders, staff shortage to the extent of more than 50% means that firefighting remains a challenge. Recently, fire officer Davinder Kumar had to call a fire tender from Gidderbaha and Dabwali in Haryana to help douse the fire in Muktsar.

With the harvest season around the corner and farmers worried over protecting their crops from fires, the shortage could soon prove costly. In Gidderbaha, there are two fire tenders but there is a dearth of drivers, firemen and leading firemen.

STAFF NEEDED

For a fire tender, four drivers, 14 firemen, four leading firemen, a fire officer and a sub-fire officer are needed, for a count of 24.

THE EXTENT OF THE SHORTAGE

In Gidderbaha, there are only four firemen against 32 needed and only one regular driver against eight. Gidderbaha fire officer Baldev Singh said, “There is a shortage of employees. We have outsourced two drivers. It is hard to manage.” He added, “We are not getting our salary for four months. In an emergency, we take help from nearby fire stations.” A farmer, Labh Singh, said, “It is shocking to see that government is not serious about public safety.”

ABOHAR, MALOUT ALSO SUFFER

Similar is the situation in Abohar and Malout . In Malout, there are only three drivers for four fire tenders, when officially, there should be 12 drivers. Fire officer Davinder Singh said, “On Saturday, our sub-fire officer, Gursharn, drove the fire tender to the village as we have only three drivers. We need 13 drivers, 40 firemen and 10 leading firemen.”

In Abohar, there is only one fireman and three drivers for four fire tenders. Abohar fire officer Gurjant Singh said, “We engage workers from the local municipal committee during an emergency.”