MANUAL-1
Particulars of Organization, Functions & Duties
[Section-4 (1) (b) (I)]
Odisha Fire Service owes its origin to pre-independence era. It was in the year 1936, when Odisha became a separate state having its capital at Cuttack, the then British Police administration symbolically started Fire Service by putting some fire buckets in front of its magazine guard at Cantonment Road, Cuttack. But during the World War II, in the year 1942, when Japanese war planes started bombarding the coastal districts of Odisha, particularly in Kujanga & Paradip area of present Jagatsinghpur district, the British administration of Odisha decided to set up Fire Stations in the coastal districts.
To start with the proposal, on 1st March 1942, ten police constables with Havildar Sd. Sallimuddin under the charge of Sergeant Major Hurtson James were attached to Cantonment Police Phandi (Police out post) at Cantonment Road Cuttack for firefighting duty. This unit was provided with two Ford petrol driven trucks with inscription, "Emergency Police Force". The pay and emoluments of Sergeant Major (Fire) was fixed to Rs.40/-as per Govt. order No.1121/ARP dt.25.03.42. The Police personnel (Firemen) attached to Cantonment Phandi for firefighting were granted Fire brigade allowance of Rs.5/- per month w.e.f. 01.03.1942 vide DO. No.16 dt.01.03.1942. They were also given war allowance wef.01.09.1942. So officially Fire Service started in Odisha on 1st March 1942.
In the year 1943, Fire advisor to Govt. of India visited Odisha to find out the feasibility for expansion of Fire Services in Odisha. As per his recommendation four Fire Stations were sanctioned for Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Berhampur. In the same year, recruitment was held for enrolment of regular Firemen for opening of these Fire Stations vide DO. No.41/1943. To begin with, twelve Firemen were recruited for opening of Puri Fire Station. Mr. Hemayat Khan of Balipatna, Jagatsinghpur was first to join as regular Fireman on 27.07.1943. His pay was fixed to Rs.15/- vide DO. No.41/1943. He was the first Fireman of Odisha Fire Service. Besides, a regular Fire officer, Mr. J.R.G. Hatchson Stainchane was posted vide office order No.243 dt. 12.08.1943. Havildar Sallimuddin who was under deputation from Police to Fire Service was promoted to the rank of Station Officer on 01.10.1943. He was the first Station Officer of Odisha Fire Service. The next man to get promotion to Station Officer was D.P. Mishra.
The Cuttack Fire Station was shifted from Cantonment Outpost to its present accommodation at Buxibazar in the year 1944. So, Cuttack Fire Station assumes the glory of being the first Fire Station of Odisha Fire Service. The other three Fire Stations at Puri, Balosore and Berhampur were made functional w.e.f. 01.04.1944 under the charge of district Superintendent of Police vide G.O. No.3360 dt.12.04.1944.
In 1950, after shifting of the capital of Odisha from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar, Fire Station at Bhubaneswar was opened. Similarly, during construction of Hirakud Dam Sambalpur Fire Station was opened inside the Reserve Police Line, Sambalpur in the year 1954. In 1955, seven Fire Stations were made functional at Aska, Sonepur, Athagarh, Jeypore, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak & Khurda. By 1963, twelve Fire Stations were already functioning in Odisha. All these Fire Stations were under administrative control of district Superintendents of Police. The power of administration was transferred to Fire Officer in order to streamline Fire Service administration, Odisha vide G.O. No.21790/P dt.10.09.1963.
After independence and departure of British officers the responsibility of administration was vested with AFO Mohindra Singh who was later promoted to the rank of Fire Officer in the year 1963.
By 1980 all District HQs and Sub-Divisional HQs of Odisha were provided with fire-fighting units. The number of Fire Stations was 75. Though the administration of F.Ss. was looked after by Fire Officer, Odisha but the personnel were governed under Police Manual Rule and Odisha Fire Service continued to function as a wing of Odisha Police.
With the enactment of Odisha Fire Service Act in 1993 Odisha Fire Service ceased to be part of the police establishment. In the aftermath of the fire disaster in a religious congregation at Baripada in 1997, the policy of the government to have Fire Stations in each Block of the State had taken momentum. Accordingly, Odisha Fire Services grew rapidly bringing the total number of sanctioned Fire Stations in Odisha to 346 as on September 2023.
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1 |
Name & designation of the Head of Office : |
M. Akhaya, IPS, Director General of Police, Fire Service, Commandant General, Home Guards & Director, Civil Defence, Odisha, Cuttack. |
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2 |
Postal Address / Telephone Number |
3rd Floor, Vigilance Building, Nuapatna, Buxi Bazar, Cuttack Pin-753001 Tel.-0671-2300317 |
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3 |
Name & Designation of the next reporting Authority |
Chief Secretary, Govt, of Odisha, Bhubaneswar. |
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4 |
Postal Address / Telephone Number |
Loka Seba Bhawan, Bhubaneswar. |
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5 |
Parent Govt. Deptt. |
Home Department |
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6 |
Jurisdiction - Geographical |
State of Odisha |
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7 |
Details of Services provided |
Training/Firefighting/Disaster Response |
Odisha Fire Service has earned a unique place in the country with the dual mandate of conventional fire-fighting and disaster response. Government of Odisha took a policy decision, post super cyclone of 1999, to develop each Fire Station in the State as a multi-hazard disaster response unit in addition to its core mandate of fire-fighting and rescue operations.
A decade long effort to equip and to train the Odisha fire service personnel in disaster mitigation have paid rich dividend in enhancing the capacity of the State government in disaster management.
In the current decade, five very-severe, extremely-severe and super-cyclonic storms have swept past Odisha. In each disaster, the Odisha Fire Service (OFS) had performed commendable recue and restoration operations to mitigate the risks and restore normalcy at a faster pace. May it be Phailin (2013), Titli (2018), Fani (2019), Bulbul (2019) or Amphan (2020), the OFS has always been at the fore-front in saving precious lives and properties. Being a flood prone State, Odisha experiences high flood almost every year when the Fire Service is pressed into service for evacuation, recue and relief operations.
The rich experience of in disaster response has enabled Odisha Fire Service to extend a helping hand to other States during natural calamities. For example, in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud (2014), thirty teams of Odisha Fire Service comprising more than 300 personnel were mobilised to the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh for recue and restoration tasks. During the devasting floods in Kerala in 2018, more than 200 fire service personnel were deputed to Kerala for rescue operations. And very recently, more than 370 fire service personnel were deputed to assist the West Bengal administration in rescue and restoration work, post cyclone Amphan amid the fear of Covid-19 pandemic. The services of the Odisha Fire were mobilised even for Meghalaya mining accident in 2018. Since 2010, it has rescued more than 90,000 people and 58,000 cattle in the operations related to floods and cyclones, earning numerous awards and accolades.
2 . Address of the office & its sub-offices:
3rd Floor, Vigilance Building,
Nuapatna,
Buxi Bazar,
Cuttack.
Pin: 753001
Tel. Ph. : 0671-2300317
3. Working Hours both Office & Public:
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM
Closing Hours: 5:30 PM