NEW DELHI: Since 2019, out of the over 300 firefighters who have joined Delhi Fire Service (DFS), 67% are graduates, postgraduates or professionals and 33% Class X or XII passouts. Among the highly qualified firefighters who have opted for taking up the risky job of saving lives is 32-year-old Sachin Tomar, a BTech (mechanical) graduate and a native of Baghpat. He started working as an engineer with a private company in Haryana in 2011. In 2016, he cracked the UP state services exam and got selected as a village development officer. Wanting to contribute more to society, he cleared the DFS examination and was enrolled in the force in 2019. Since then, he has saved several lives. He is currently posted at DFS headquarters. The fresh recruits are not the only ones who have professional degrees. Even DFS director Atul Garg has a bachelor of engineering degree, MBA and postgraduate diploma in life safety. In the 1990s, he got an opportunity to join the excise or customs departments, but he chose fire service as it was different from other professions. “When I joined the fire service, it was not a popular profession. Now, many educated youths are joining it to serve the nation. Every day we face new challenges. We risk our lives to save others, which is satisfying,” said Garg, who is also planning to pursue PhD and has also cleared the entrance exam of a university. Garg said, “It’s a very different feeling when we go for a rescue operation. People trapped in buildings look at us with the hope that they will be saved. This gives us motivation. My profession is unique and adventurous.” Sumit Ruhil (29) worked as a quality engineer with a private company for five years. “I wanted to join the army. As I couldn’t, I opted for DFS. I was inspired by my father’s profession. I started preparing for the fire department exam and got selected in 2018,” he said. His father, Raj Kumar Ruhil, retired as a sub-officer in DFS. Rupesh Malik (37), who is posted at Geeta Colony fire station as a fire operator, is a BTech graduate and has also done LLB. His father and brother are policemen and he joined the fire department in 2019. During the northeast Delhi riots, Malik played an important role in dousing fires. In March this year, he was injured while attending to a fire call in Usmanpur. Another fire operator from Geeta Colony fire station, Anil Dhaka, has an MA and BEd from Rajasthan. “I often share videos of rescue operations with my family in Rajasthan and they feel proud of my work,” he said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/more-graduates-joining-delhi-fire-service-to-save-lives/articleshow/94274923.cms