India, Aug. 2 -- The Union ministry of home affairs has technically vetted the Delhi Fire Service's proposal to increase its personnel strength, by approving the creation of 10,743 new posts and thereby, paving the way to plug a longstanding gap in emergency response service, as per documents accessed by HT.

The move will raise the sanctioned strength of the department from 3,175 to 13,918 personnel and also mark the first major manpower augmentation proposal for the fire department since 2010.

"The proposed addition of 5,069 posts is technically vetted, as it represents a rationalized adoption of SFAC (Standing Fire Advisory Council) benchmarks," the proposal document, a copy of which was accessed by HT, read.

Chief fire officer AK Ma...