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Two fire engines wait at Jalpaiguri fire station. Picture by Biplab Basak
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The Jalpaiguri fire station has its fire engines ready, but not enough men to battle the flames.
The problem of staff shortage is such that only two fire engines can work at the same time.
“As of now, there are three fire engines at the Jalpaiguri fire station. But as we have less staff, it is not possible to run all the three engines at a time. As the entire Jalpaiguri town and neighbouring areas of Haldibari, Rajganj and Mainaguri are dependent on this fire station, we are always tense,” an employee said on the condition of anonymity.
“In case there is a major fire and we send two engines, we cannot send the third engine to attend a second fire call as there is no staff. Unless at least one of the two engines returns from the earlier fire, we cannot send any help to the second spot.”
According to sources at the district fire services department, several posts are vacant. “Out of 13 sanctioned posts for leader, only eight are working now. Among the post of drivers, four of 13 are vacant while out of 54 posts of fire operators, only 39 are working right now.
Also, instead of two sub-officers, only two are in the fire station while the remaining two posts are vacant,” a fire station source said.
Every month, on an average, 20-25 incidents of fire are reported in Jalpaiguri and its surrounding areas which are handled by this fire station.
The employees said that they were also not paid money for doing additional work or overtime. “We don’t get the additional money for which we are entitled to but often we need to work additional hours,” a fireman said.
Santi Ranjan Guha, the station master of Jalpaiguri fire station, said: “It is true that due to the shortage of staff, we are confronting a number of problems. However, the problem is likely to be resolved soon as new fire stations are coming up in Mainaguri and Haldibari.”
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