Delhi Fire Service to hire 500 personnel on contract

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) will be hiring 500 personnel on contract for a year, via the central government portal, GeM, short for Government e-marketplace. Those who have completed courses or diplomas in firefighting can apply for the post. Most of those recruited will be used as firefighters, whereas a few may also be deployed as drivers.

The recruitment to DFS, which otherwise takes place through the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) is a time-consuming process, and DFS does not want to risk functioning with less than adequate staff till then. That is why, it has been decided that personnel would be hired on contract for a short term till the requirement for permanent staff is fulfilled. In other words, the contract staff will be deployed as a stop-gap arrangement till DSSSB manages to hire permanent staff.
.
Since the incidents of fire multiply during the summer season, DFS thought it right to hire more personnel (on contract) during the winters than wait till emergency strikes.

The present number of vacancies, that is, over 700, will take at least a couple of years to fill through DSSSB. Right now, the 3500 strong workforce is deployed across 63 fire stations. Meanwhile, the DSSSB notification for recruitment is already available online. DSSSB invites those who possess a matriculation certificate and a valid licence for driving heavy-duty vehicles to apply.

All candidates will have to go through a physical endurance test, driving test and written test as prescribed by the Chief Fire Officer.