Kejri wants better training, gear for Delhi’s firefighters

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday directed departments concerned to provide better fire fighting gear for personnel, impart proper training, and ensure extra payment for extra hours beside filling up of vacancies in order to take the burden of the city’s firefighters.

The directions come four days after two firefighters lost their lives on duty in a cylinder blast at a west Delhi restaurant.

The slew of measures came in a meeting of the chief minister with a delegation of Delhi Fire Service Employees Welfare Association on Tuesday at the Delhi secretariat. The meeting was also attended by Delhi home minister Satyendar Jain, chief secretary MM Kutty, home secretary SN Sahai and other senior officials of the government.

The meeting was called by Kejriwal after a few members had raised a number of concerns during the chief minister’s visit to one of the deceased firefighter’s home Hari Om on Sunday.

Friday’s cylinder blast incident was the second such in the city within four months that claimed the lives of firefighters. On October 2 last year two firemen had been killed in a blaze at a plastic factory in Narela.

The first demand of the delegation was to enhance the quality of their fire fighting gears. The chief minister directed the officers to get world class gears for the employees of Delhi Fire Services as safety of firefighters should be given utmost importance.

Ensuring the employees of fulfilling their demands for payment for the extra hours they were putting in, the chief minister directed the officials to look into the matter. “They must be paid for the hours they work more than the stipulated shifts,” Kejriwal told the officials.

Reacting on another point of demand of the delegation for proper training, Kejriwal asked the officers responsible to ensure that employees of Delhi Fire Services be sent for the best training at the best centres required.

“He directed that training must start from March. The CM also asked the director of fire services to ensure that the employees are trained to use the equipment procured from abroad at the earliest,” an official said.