66 stations, 98 daily calls, 80% station officers unrecruited: Inside Delhi’s fire service crisis

Delhi’s population is now estimated at 3.4 crore. The city’s fire service, however, runs on just 3,312 sanctioned posts, and even those are far from filled.

It’s a paradox the fire services know well. The department works mostly unseen – until something goes horribly wrong. Then it faces the backlash, whether after last year’s nightclub fire in Goa that operated without a fire compliance certificate, or the Noida drowning where rescuers reportedly didn’t have the right equipment. 

In Delhi, vacancies are severe across the operational command centre. As of January 31, nearly 80 percent of station officer posts – the officers who head fire stations – are vacant. More than half the posts for leading firemen and drivers are also unfilled.

Yet emergencies don’t slow down. Last year, the service received an average of 98 calls a day across its 66 stations – a total of 35,865 calls. 

The drill

To understand what these shortages mean in practice, it is important to first understand how the Delhi Fire Service is meant to respond to emergencies.

When a fire breaks out in a Delhi neighbourhood or market, the emergency response begins with a call to 112 – the centralised emergency helpline.

Operators assess the nature of the incident and route the call to relevant agencies – typically the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, and ambulance services. In cases involving building collapse, flooding or mass casualties, disaster management agencies are alerted as well.

On receiving any fire call, a fire engine departs from one of the city’s fire stations, usually staffed by a crew of six: a driver, operation in-charge, and four fire operators/firemen. The vehicle carries firefighting and rescue equipment including hoses, breathing apparatus, foam cylinders, axes, ropes extending up to 200 feet, gloves and various cutting tools.

During such an operation, the fire department will have to navigate through traffic, the police will make sure the crowd is managed, the electricity department will cut the electric lines. An attempt will then be made to douse the blaze and rescue the affected, facing the risk of cylinder blasts and building collapse. 

In case the assigned fleet and resources are not enough, the fire is labelled a ‘Make-4’ level, which necessitates the presence of four more water tenders and an assistant divisional officer (ADO). This is followed by a ‘Make-6’ level response. If that still does not work, the fire is declared a ‘medium’ fire, which generally involves 20 to 25 fire tenders.

25% posts vacant in Delhi’s Fire Service 

As per DFS data reviewed by Newslaundry, this is where the vacancies stand as of January 31, 2026:

Station officers: Out of 90 sanctioned posts for station officers (STOs), 72 remain vacant. As per recruitment norms, half of these posts are meant to be filled through direct recruitment, while the other half are reserved for those promoted within the department. 

However, the DFS has been able to promote only 18 STOs, leaving the remaining posts unfilled. This translates to an 80 percent vacancy rate in one of the most critical operational positions.

The station officer is a pivotal role within the fire service, broadly comparable to an SHO in the police. The STO heads a fire station and is responsible for command, coordination, and on-ground decision-making during emergencies. He has to maintain all the records and attend all fire calls.

Explaining the operational consequences on the ground, an STO said, “While havildars and firefighters can be deputed for animal or bird rescue calls, a station officer is required to be present during fire calls. There are five fire stations adjoining mine, but because of the shortage of station officers, I am often required to attend fire calls in those areas as well…Since these are not my designated jurisdictions, response times inevitably increase. The area I am expected to cover keeps expanding, and the workload multiplies.”

Sub-Officer: Immediately below this rank is the sub-officer (SO). Of the 172 sanctioned posts, 61 are vacant. No direct recruitment has taken place for this rank; the 111 officers currently in position have all been promoted internally. This translates to a 35 percent vacancy rate.

Leading fireman: The situation is even more severe for this post, which is filled entirely through departmental promotion. Of the 422 sanctioned LF posts, only 176 have been filled, leaving 246 vacant – a vacancy rate of 58 percent. This has hollowed out the middle layer of operational leadership within the service.

Fireman/fire operator: At the base of the operational hierarchy is the fireman or fire operator, the largest cadre in the Delhi Fire Service. All 2,367 sanctioned posts in this category are filled through direct recruitment. Currently, 320 of these posts are vacant, amounting to a 13.5 percent vacancy rate. While proportionally lower than supervisory ranks, this gap still represents a significant shortfall in frontline responders.

The comparatively lower vacancy rate for fire operators is one of the main reasons why the DFS is able to continue functioning without a major mishap in the capital.

Drivers/firemen: These posts are filled entirely through promotion. Of the 185 sanctioned posts, only 70 have been filled, leaving 115 vacant – a vacancy rate of 62 percent.

Senior command posts such as director, chief fire officer, deputy chief fire officer and divisional officer fall under group A gazetted ranks. Assistant divisional officers and station officers are gazetted officers and fall under group B gazetted posts. Recruitment to all these gazetted posts is carried out through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), based on vacancies referred by the Delhi government.

Sub-Officers, firemen and drivers fall under Group C non-gazetted ranks, and are recruited by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).

Explaining why vacancies are yet to be filled, a leading fireman acting as in-charge of a station said, “The DSSSB does recruitment for the fire operators and other posts but that can take almost five years.”

“Here’s how it works: the DSSSB takes a written test. After clearing the test, Maruti Authority takes the heavy-vehicle driving test. Once passed, the physical test is conducted by either CRPF or CISF. Finally, the merit list is formed after which the selected candidates go through six months of training,” he explained. 

But consider the most recent recruitment drive for 706 fire operators in September 2019 by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board. 

The Physical Endurance Test (PET) was conducted between January and February 2020, followed by the written examination in April 2021. The driving skill test was held in multiple phases between March and August 2022, and the main result was finally declared in February 2023. Appointments, however, were completed only in 2024.

Another order issued by the DSSSB in February 2026 shows that recruitment for Fire Operator posts advertised as far back as 2014 is still stuck in red-tape. This is because of a court-mandated re-drawing of merit lists, underscoring how DFS recruitment cycles can even stretch across a decade.

Newslaundry tried meeting the DSSSB Chairman Sandeep Kumar IAS, but he was busy in meetings. We also wrote to the DSSSB Secretary and Controller of Exam on email but have yet to receive a response.

The challenges

Newslaundry visited a few fire stations in Delhi to speak to station officers, leading firemen, and fire operators, to understand the challenges they face.

A leading fireman at the Mayur Vihar Phase-1 fire station, which covers an area of roughly 5 sq km, told Newslaundry, “The station has two vehicles, but only seven personnel. One of the trucks has been getting repaired for about a month now.”

At the Jama Masjid fire station, which covers the congested area from Old Delhi railway station to Daryaganj red line to Turkman Gate, we met a fireman operating the wireless radio. He said that out of the three fire engines, two were out of commission. “The SWT89 in the station needs to be repaired. The bowser (tanker) is in the workshop for over a month.”

The fireman added, “Since the area is congested with tiny lanes it becomes very difficult to reach fire spots and hoses have to be connected. Instead, we should have small vehicles which will make firefighting much more efficient here.”

He then showed us a list of 318 firemen that were assigned on contractual basis in 2025 to deal with the manpower crunch.

The DFS has around 265 vehicles, which includes 95 water tenders, 42 water bowsers, and other appliances. 

The difference is stark compared to global standards.

In Tokyo, for a population of 1.4 crore people, there are 18,800 firefighters on staff, along with a 26,000 strong volunteer network, and over 2,000 firefighting vehicles.

In London, there are 5,000 operational firefighters for a city of nearly 1 crore people. The New York City Fire Department has more than 11,000 firefighters and over 4,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, covering a population of over 80 lakh.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government plans to introduce more QRVs (quick response vehicles), which are compact, high-speed emergency vehicles designed for firefighting and rescue. Along with it, the government also plans to privatise firefighting manpower and even fire audits.

“Government wants to privatise everything”

As per a Times of India report, 239 lives were lost in preventable accidents and disasters from January 2024 to December 2025; 89 of them died by drowning. While the DFS does carry life jackets and conducts rescues, swimming is not a mandatory qualification. 

Newslaundry met A K Malik, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, at the DFS Headquarters on Barakhamba Road, to talk about these issues. 

On asking why the recruitment rules for firefighters do not require swimming as a requirement, Malik said, “Several operational responsibilities of the Delhi Fire Service have shifted over time as part of administrative decisions taken by the state. Swimming and water rescue, for example, were once part of DFS operations, but since disaster response is a state subject, water rescue operations were later assigned to the Flood Control Department, with DFS now playing a supporting role.”

“Similarly, DFS earlier operated its own ambulances and rescue boats, but as the Centralised Ambulance Transport (CAT) system expanded and became more robust, fire service ambulances were phased out,” he added.

The manpower shortage has direct operational consequences. Malik explained that “instead of the standard six-member crew, fire engines are sometimes forced to operate with just four personnel. This, in turn, necessitates calling in additional vehicles from neighbouring areas, stretching already limited resources and creating a cascading strain on response capacity.”

Blaming the DSSSB for recruitment delays, Malik pointed to manpower crunch as one of the most persistent challenges and added that amendments to the recruitment rules are being considered to ease the process.

“At present, candidates for fire operator posts are required to hold a heavy motor vehicle (HMV) licence. Under the proposed amendments, candidates would only need a light motor vehicle (LMV) licence at the time of recruitment, and would be trained in heavy vehicle driving during their two-year probation period,” he said.

The radio and wireless operator sitting in Malik’s office interjected. “It took me eight years to get recruited.”

Fire compliance lagging

The DFS is also tasked with building inspections and issuance of the Fire Safety Certificate/NOCs.

However, as per a Hindustan Times report, only 52 hotels and 38 clubs out of the roughly 1,000 licensed hotels, clubs and restaurants in Delhi currently hold a no-objection certificate (NOC) for fire safety from the DFS.

Malik noted that while DFS issues the NOCs, this responsibility may now be shifted to a third-party system – a move that would further change the department’s regulatory role. He also flagged concerns over what he described as a broader push towards privatisation, including in areas such as workshops, even as key technical posts remain vacant. 

Newslaundry reached out to the Delhi government’s home department asking about the push for privatisation and recruitment timelines. This report will be updated if a response is received.

Meanwhile, R C Sharma, former director of the DFS, described the staffing crisis as nothing short of a breakdown of the city’s emergency response system.

“This is a collapse of our emergency services,” he said. “Station Officers are in charge of fire stations. If you don’t have them, how do you run the station?”

“When you open a fire station, you conduct operations through the Station Officer. If that post is vacant, lower-level officers or leading firemen end up doing the job,” he said. “There will inevitably be a lack of knowledge and experience. You are not going to do justice to the job.”

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