On The Truck With The Delhi Fire Service

WHETHER IT’S BATTLING A CHEMICAL BLAZE WITH NO PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT OR FENDING OFF ATTACKS FROM THE VERY PEOPLE WHOSE HOUSES ARE BURNING, NOTHING COMES EASY FOR DELHI’S FIREFIGHTERS

NEW DELHI, A CITY OF 14 MILLION PEOPLE sprawled across almost 42 square kilometres, faces some incredible odds when it comes to fighting its fires. Forty-five percent of the capital’s population lives in unauthorised neighbourhoods and slums with no fire safety standards. Illegal electrical wiring causes up to 80 percent of the approximately 5,500 blazes that break out across India’s capital each summer. Temperatures are sweltering, fire hydrants exist but only about a third of them are functional, and many lanes are too narrow to accommodate a fire engine. Crowds sometimes attack firefighters for arriving late on the scene, most often due to traffic jams. Delhi’s firefighters also battle chemical fires with no protective clothing. One firefighter says, “It’s hot already, why would I want to get into a suit?”