Delhi Fire Service Crew Size Unchanged Since 2009 While Deaths Rise 292% and Emergency Calls Surge By 124%

The frontline firefighting workforce in the national capital has remained completely frozen for nearly two decades. This stagnation persists even as life-threatening emergencies skyrocket and fatalities multiply.
An analysis of Right to Information (RTI) data and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports reveals that the sanctioned strength for the core firefighting cadres of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) has not changed since 2009. This core team consists of Firemen/Fire Operators (2,367) and Leading Firemen (422).

For 17 years, this combined baseline has been locked at 2,789 posts. Meanwhile, emergency calls jumped by 124% and recorded deaths spiked by 292%, says a report by NEWS18. 

Calls and Casualties Multiplied

The numbers highlight a stark operational reality. According to data obtained by News18 under the RTI Act, the Delhi Fire Service responded to 36,877 emergency calls during the 2025-26 period, a window in which 1,488 people lost their lives. When measured against the 2008-09 metrics, the volume of emergency calls more than doubled, while the death toll grew by nearly four times.

Compounding this frozen personnel ceiling is a persistent failure to fill existing slots. As of April 2026, only 2,253 of those 2,789 sanctioned positions were actually active. This leaves 536 vacancies across these two frontline roles, with the Firemen/Fire Operator cadre alone short by 523 workers.

A Quarter-Century of Ignored Warnings

This staffing deficit is not a recent development. The CAG has repeatedly sounded the alarm for 25 years. Official reports from 2001, 2009, and 2016 explicitly criticized the personnel shortfalls within the DFS. Yet, by 2026, one out of every five essential frontline positions remains completely unfilled.

This personnel shortage persists despite the expanding responsibilities of the department. Since 2005, the Union Home Ministry has designated fire services as the primary technical responders for both natural and man-made disasters. This changed the state-governed department from a traditional firefighting unit into a multi-hazard emergency response force.

The CAG addressed this shift directly in its 2016 report, noting: "The availability of adequate field staff was imperative for the operational efficiency of the DFS."

Years earlier, in 2009, the auditor noted that severe shortages among Leading Firemen and Firemen, the primary operational staff, proved the DFS was not properly equipped to handle fire emergencies and large-scale disasters.

From Past Vacancies to Present Gaps

The department has struggled with empty posts for years. In 2009, only 1,458 of the 2,789 sanctioned roles were filled. This left 1,331 vacancies, meaning nearly 48% of the frontline workforce was missing. While the hiring gap has narrowed since then, the 536 vacancies remaining in 2026 still make up nearly two-thirds of all operational openings across the entire department.

This deficit clashes directly with the city's rapidly increasing safety demands:

• 2004-05: The DFS handled 14,232 calls and logged 277 deaths, averaging roughly 39 calls and under one death per day.
• 2008-09: Volume climbed to 16,444 calls and 380 deaths, push daily averages to 45 runs and more than one fatality.
• 2016-17: Emergency calls broke the 30,000 threshold for the first time, averaging about 83 calls every day.
• 2024-25: Total calls exceeded 35,000, forcing crews out to around 100 emergencies daily.

By 2025-26, the burden grew to an average of 101 daily calls. Of these, roughly 55 were specific to fires, up from a daily fire call average of about 40 in 2020-21.

Changing Nature of Emergency Threats

Annual fatalities tied to incidents handled by the DFS stayed below 500 until 2020-21. However, the subsequent years saw a sharp upward trajectory. Fatalities rose to 591 in 2021-22, then nearly doubled to 1,029 in 2022-23, averaging three deaths per day. By 2025-26, the annual total reached 1,488, or more than four deaths every single day.

Annual fatalities tied to incidents handled by the DFS stayed below 500 until 2020-21. However, the subsequent years saw a sharp upward trajectory. Fatalities rose to 591 in 2021-22, then nearly doubled to 1,029 in 2022-23, averaging three deaths per day. By 2025-26, the annual total reached 1,488, or more than four deaths every single day.

THE FATALITY TRAJECTORY
2020-21: Sub-500 annual deaths
2021-22: 591 annual deaths
2022-23: 1,029 annual deaths (3 per day)
2025-26: 1,488 annual deaths (4+ per day)

Interestingly, the RTI data shows that most of these fatalities do not stem from fires. Only 84 of the 1,488 deaths in 2025-26 were classified as fire-related. The remaining 1,404 fatalities fell under the "other" category, which covers structural collapses and various non-fire emergencies managed by the agency.

Recent Crises Highlight Ongoing Strain

The dangers remain high this year. So far, Delhi has recorded 66 fire-related deaths. This includes a single blaze on Wednesday that killed 21 people at a hotel in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. This is the deadliest fire in the city since May 2022, when a major blaze at a four-story commercial and office building in Mundka killed 27 people. It also recalls the February 2019 tragedy in Karol Bagh, where a hotel fire claimed 17 lives. Additionally, two separate blazes in March and May of this year killed nine people each.

Neither the Delhi government nor the DFS has officially admitted that these staffing gaps hurt their emergency response. However, the audited records tell a very different story. From the 2001 CAG report to the 2026 RTI disclosures, the facts show a clear trend: Delhi's emergency burden continues to grow, while its frontline firefighting force remains locked in the past.
 

Also Read: Another Delhi Hotel Fire: Basement Blaze Sparks Panic Near Safdarjung Enclave; 5 Fire Engines Rush to Scene