The Kerala Fire and Rescue Services is the service department of the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

whose function is to fight fires and provide relief measures in times of calamities and disasters in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It is responsible for the provision of fire protection as well as responding to building collapses, drownings, gas leakage, oil spillage, road and rail accidents, bird and animal rescues, fallen trees and taking appropriate action during

natural disasters A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...

. The department has now 129 Fire and Rescue stations and a Training Academy consisting of nearly 4800 executive personnel and nearly 200 ministerial staff. The Headquarters the department is situated at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. "WE SERVE TO SAVE" is the motto of the department.

History

There were separate Fire services in

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

and

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

States before the formation of Kerala State. There were three fire stations in Travancore and Kochi and five fire stations in Malabar. These stations were under the control of Police Department. In 1949, the Fire Station of Travancore and Cochin states were joined together. In 1956, Malabar state was also included and thus the Kerala Fire Service came into being. From then onwards, the Inspector General of Police was the head of the Fire Service up to 1963. Fire services worked as part of the Police Department. As per the notification of The Kerala Government in 1962, Kerala Fire Force Act came into existence. The Kerala Fire Force department started working as a separate department since 1963. Director of Civil Defence held the position of the Head of the Department till 1967. From 1967 to August 1970 an Inspector General of Police held the charge of the Director for Fire Force. In 1970 the Fire Force Department was brought under a separate Director. In 1982 the name of the Director of Fire Force was renamed as Commandant General, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Force. Considering the rescue works under taken by this Department and significance in that area, this department had been renamed as Kerala Fire & Rescue Services in 2002. Now the Department is rendering its remarkable and commendable service through 129 Fire & Rescue Stations. In 2015 the name of the Commandant General was renamed as Director General, Fire and Rescue, Home Guards and Civil Defence. There are 14 District Offices and 6 Regional Offices in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

and Kannur and one RegionalFire Officer in the post of Director and three district Fire Officers in the post of Assistant Director in

Kerala Fire and Rescue Services Academy Kerala Fire and Rescue Services Academy (Malayalam:കേരള ഫയര്‍ ആന്‍റ് റെസ്ക്യൂ സര്‍വ്വീസസ് അക്കാദമി) is situated in Ramavarmapuram in Thrissur city, Kerala of In ...

. Motor Transport wing is established in Headquarters, Academy and six Regional offices. The Department is in a stage of modernisation and development so as to provide better service to the public in all emergency situations.

Organisation structure

The head of the Department is the Director General (D.G.) who is the rank of the D.G.P., I.P.S. rank and under him there is a Director (Admn.) at the Headquarters, and a Director (Technical) at the Kerala Fire And Rescue Services Academy,

Viyyur Viyyoor is a residential area situated in the city of Thrissur in Kerala state of India. Viyyur is Ward 4 of Thrissur Municipal Corporation. It is dotted by a number of temples, churches, Mosques and is surrounded by lush greenery. It is about 4 ...

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

. There are six Regional Offices consisting of two or three districts, located in

and

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

where Regional Officers are in charge. Each district has a District Fire Office and under each District Fire Officer there are Fire & Rescue Stations where a Station Officer as the station in charge. At each station, in addition to Station Officer there are Assistant Station Officers, Senior Fire and Rescue Officer,Senior Fire and Rescue Officer (Mechanic),Fire and Rescue Officer, Fire and Rescue Officer (Driver). In addition to this, there is a full-fledged ministerial staff at Headquarters, Regional offices, viyyur Academy and District Offices.

Services

* Rescue services * Pumping services * Ambulance services * Awareness programs * Security Checkup * Training programs * Mock drills

Selection and training

Recruitment of personnel is based on statewide. The

Kerala Public Service Commission The Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) is a body created by the Constitution of India to select applicants for civil service jobs in the Indian state of Kerala according to the merits of the applicants and the rules of reservation. The He ...

is undertaking the recruitment procedure. Recruitment procedure includes written examination, physical test and medical test. Those who has selected has to undergo a training as specified. For imparting training to the employees and newly recruited

Fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

, Fireman Driver cum Pump Operator and Driver Mechanic, Fire And Rescue Services Academy was started at Viyyur, Thrissur in 2007. The supervision of this Academy is held by the Director in the rank of Regional Fire Officer. Three District Fire Officers and Station Officer who have the charge of the training are also working in this Academy.

Gallery

File:Kerala fire force logo.jpg, emblem File:Kerala Fire & Recue Service Vehicle (1).jpg, water tender

References