Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services is grappling with nearly 41 per cent manpower shortage with 1,490 posts vacant against a sanctioned strength of 3,639, an RTI reply has revealed.
Of this, 103 posts fell vacant after termination of employees on December 15 last year, following findings of irregularities in their recruitment five years ago.
“The department currently has 2,149 personnel in position, with vacancies across gazetted and non-gazetted cadres under both direct recruitment and promotional quotas. The issue has been taken up with the administrative department,” the fire and emergency services department informed Jammu-based RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma in a written response on Tuesday.
Sharing the information with PTI, Sharma said the Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services in Jammu and Kashmir is operating with about 59 per cent of its sanctioned staff strength.
“The shortfall is significant for an emergency response department, especially as more than 50,000 major and minor fire incidents were reported across the Union Territory in the past decade,” Sharma said.
According to the data, the operational cadres remain the worst affected. Of the 1,619 sanctioned posts of firemen and firemen drivers, only 804 are occupied, while 815 posts — more than half — are vacant, raising concerns over the department’s emergency response capabilities.
Senior and supervisory ranks are also facing acute shortages with both posts of joint directors, all six posts of deputy directors, and eight assistant directors out of the 16 sanctioned posts are vacant. The department is also without a prosecution officer, while all 12 telephone operator posts, five radio mechanics, and three RTM operators remain unfilled, it said.
Other vacant posts include 23 divisional fire officers, 44 station officers, 32 leading firemen, 72 firemen and one administrative officer, the data said.
The second highest number of vacancies has been reported among drivers (314) besides sub officers (90). Several essential support positions, including medical and accounting staff, also remain vacant.
On December 15, 2025, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha dismissed 103 employees in the department after they were found to have been illegally appointed through a manipulated recruitment process five years ago.
The action followed the findings of an inquiry committee and subsequent investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into alleged irregularities in the 2020 recruitment of firemen and drivers in the department.
In response to another query, the department said 3,490 major and 48,869 minor fire incidents took place across Jammu and Kashmir between 2015 and 2025.
Jammu accounted for the highest number of 637 major fire incidents, followed by Srinagar (581), Budgam (482), Ganderbal (468), Ramban (310), Baramulla (212), Kupwara (127), Anantnag (123), Bandipora (111), Kulgam (99), Pulwam (93), Kathua (75), Shopian (36), Doda (30), Samba (32), Kishtwar (24), Rajouri (18), Udhampur (14), Reasi (11) and Poonch (7).
Jammu also witnessed the highest number of 12,276 minor fire incidents in the last decade, followed by Srinagar (5,119), Baramulla (4,493), Kupwara (3,849), Anantnag (3,319), Samba (2,856), Pulwama (2,431), Kathua (2,358), Budgam (1,881), Kulgam (1,555), Shopian (1,282), Udhampur (1,240), Rajouri (1,234), Doda (1,181), Poonch (950), Reasi (870), Ramban (629), Bandipora (600), Kishtwar (583) and Ganderbal (163), the data showed.
The RTI activist said the department is crucial for fire and emergency services across the Union Territory and must be strengthened to ensure coverage in remote and far-flung areas, many of which remain cut off during winter.
Highlighting their operational importance, he said the fire and emergency services played a key role in Operation Sindoor in May last year, responding effectively to emergencies amid cross-border shelling.
Strengthening the department, he said, is essential for improving response times, enhancing readiness and providing vital services to high-risk communities across Jammu and Kashmir.
