The Fire Department is gearing up to adjust its manpower in view of the State Government’s decision to create 17 new districts. With only 13 District Fire Officer (DFO) posts at present, the department is planning to deploy Additional DFO-level cadre to the new areas, said officials.
At present, the department has 13 District Fire Officer, Additional District Fire Officer , and a total of 98 fire stations in Telangana, said a senior official.
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Once the new districts are created, ADFOs will be posted there, as there is need to have one senior level officer in every district, he added. “As of now, there is no talk about creating more DFO posts to fill the gap. So this is the only option,” mentioned the official.
The official said that in the present 10 districts, Hyderabad has additional staff, which can be redistributed to meet the requirements of the new districts. “Right now there are DFO and ADFO level cadre in each district. Once the new areas are formed, we will have only one officer in each district headquarters to oversee it. With that in mind, the additional District Fire Officer will be sent,” he added.
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The functioning of the Fire Department however will not be affected even if the new districts are formed, said senior officials.
“There won’t be any problem with the fire stations as well. In fact, it will be easier for coordination, as senior personnel will be present everywhere.
AccommodationThe only issue is that of finding accommodation, for which we may have to rent a building,” said another senior official.
The official informed that currently the Fire Department has only 12 buildings in the State and that it would need 15 more after the new districts are formed.
“Our operations won’t be affected much. We have a staff of over 2,000, including DFOs, ADFOs, fire fighters, drivers etc. The numbers will increase after recruitments,” he added.