Patna, March 27: In a bid to deal with the spurt in fire mishaps because of the hot and dry weather, the skeletal-staffed fire department will conduct a 90-day advanced training-cum-duty session from March 28 for around 100 home guard jawans. They will be taught to deal with and control blaze.

Sources in the department told The Telegraph that only 10 per cent of the total number of sanctioned posts for fire-fighters was filled at present. So, more men were needed, especially at this time of the year when the number of fire mishaps increases. The department sources said the trained home guard jawans would be only engaged in dealing with serious incidents of fire, where expertise is required.

A fire department official said: “The number of fire mishaps increase with the onset of summer. It almost doubles compared to the other months of the year.”

“Central Training Institute in Bihta, around 25km from Patna, is a training facility for home guard jawans. The training facility for the state fire department is also in the same place. The jawans will be trained at the fire department’s training facility,” said the official.

Advanced training will include climbing ladders to get into high-rises, quick control and dousing of flames, differe-ntiation between a normal fire and that resulting from a short circuit or a chemical reaction.

“The jawans will be taught ways to identify and douse chemical fires. They will also be trained to resist flames and prevent adjoining premises and buildings from catching fires. They will be sensitised on the dos and don’ts while fighting fire so that no other building is damaged,” the official said.

“While being trained, the jawans will have to report on field duty. Once the training is over, they will be posted at different fire stations. Besides adding to the total strength, they will increase the efficiency of the fire department as the jawans will have specialised training,” he added.

Senior officers of the department were unavailable for comments but a source said 400 home guard jawans were already working with the fire department because of the manpower crunch.

There has been a spurt in fire mishaps in the state after the temperature started to rise. On March 23, a furniture shop at Kankerbagh was gutted. Seven children were seriously injured after a fire broke out in their home at Danapur on March 3.