Page 12 - Risk Management Bulletin January-June 2023

RMAI BULLETIN JANUARY - JUNE 2023

FIRE SERVICES

IN INDIA AND

ITS PRESENT

STATUS

Evoluton of fre services in India Corporaton of Madras afer a devastatng fre in the city.
Delhi is believed to have had a fre brigade in 1867, but
The development of fre services in India, to a large
the organized form of fre staton is claimed to have
extent, was in?uenced by India’s politcal and historical
been started in 1896 and was under the Municipal
associaton with Britain. Regular fre services in India frst
Corporaton. Presently, Delhi has its own Fire Service
came up in Bombay (Mumbai) & Calcuta (Kolkata).
Act, under the Government of the Natonal Capital
Territory (NCT) of Delhi since 10th November, 1994.
The great fre of Bombay occurred in 1803 and the frst
nucleus of fre service in India took shape, with police
While in Britain, a natonal fre service was started
being entrusted with fre fghtng jobs. In 1822, the fre
service in Calcuta was organized under the Calcuta during the Second World War, no such natonal fre
service was formed in India. As a sequel to the Second
Police. In 1855, the Bombay fre brigade was ofcially
World War, however, a need was felt to organize and
formed and formally placed under the police as a part-
improve the fre service in India and, hence, some new
tme functon. In 1864, it was placed jointly with the
government and Municipal Corporaton. In 1872, the fre brigades were set up. The concept of auxiliary fre
services in the Civil Defence (CD) was also introduced,
Calcuta fre brigade came to be fnanced by the Calcuta
but it never took concrete shape in the country. The
Municipal Corporaton. By the Municipal Act 1872 and
1878, insurance companies were made to contribute fre brigades in India remained heterogeneous in
character and majority of them contnued to remain ill-
towards the maintenance of the fre brigades. In 1888,
equipped and di?erently organized.
through the Bombay Municipal Corporaton Act,
protecton against fre became obligatory for the
Bombay Municipal Corporaton. The Madras city fre Present status

brigade was established in 1908 by the Municipal Fire services in India come under the 12th schedule of

10