http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/Firemen_left_in_cold_once_again/articleshow/2762712.cmsAHMEDABAD: When Hotel Shakunt collapsed, 160 men from Ahmedabad Fire Brigade and Emergency Services (AFES), worked non-stop for 24 hours to rescue people from the debris. Of course, this was not for the first time they had carried out such an operation.
But when AMC, which governs AFES, announced its Rs 2,990 crore budget for 2008-2009, the fire brigade got a pittance. AMC conveniently forgot that this agency is severely short-staffed and has obsolete equipments to tackle disaster. The fact that AFES, whose men worked round the clock for 96 hours to clear tonnes of rubble from 85 collapsed buildings in the city during the killer quake, despite problems, went unnoticed once again.
AMC has not recruited a single staff member in last 15 years in the fire department. At present, against the 435 scheduled posts, there are only 320 men working, under tremendous physical and mental stress. Of the 278 posts for firemen, 120 are vacant. Out of 162 vehicles, 42 are ready to be scrapped, while the department's sole snorkel is obsolete. AMC had so far treated the agency as an 'adopted child'.
Sanctioning the renovation of Sabarmati fire station was the only provision for the fire department. There is no mention of increasing staff or having more fire stations for the city. The fire stations at Bodakdev, Sabarmati and Jashodanagar, which were established four years ago, have still not got any scheduled posts filled up.
"The fire department needs more staff and regular promotion for its existing fire stations to work properly in the city," said an AMC official.
He added: "In the event of major disasters like earthquake, it would be difficult to handle the situation with the present capacity."
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