The number of fire fighting stations in Tehran will increase to 120 by the end of the calendar year (March 20, 2015). At present 112 fire stations are functioning in the city, said Mojtaba Abdollahi, deputy for urban services at Tehran Municipality (TM).
Building and equipping each station will cost $2 million and a force of 32 personnel will be allocated to each station.
The Tehran City Council funds the hiring of firefighting personnel annually. The candidates are selected by special test and interview, and undergo rigorous training.
The number of deaths in fire accidents in Iran is low compared to other countries, indicating high standards of training imparted by the Firefighting Organization.
Civic Plan
At present, the city’s firefighting facilities are in a good condition; however, the city council has laid emphasis on equipping the stations with the latest modern facilities.
According to the TM’s five-year plan (2014-19), the number of the city’s firefighting stations should increase to 150 by the end of plan period. “Therefore, a bill has been presented to the council on the financial costs and funding of the municipality’s fire services expansion plan,” Abdollahi said.
Purchasing 30 fire service ladders and 45 narrow-axle vehicles (for better emergency access) are also on the organization’s agenda.
Further, the plan has also given special attention to development of air rescue operations. In this regard, repair and maintenance of helicopters and obtaining permits for implementation of air rescue operations are under consideration. The aim of such operations is to rescue stranded people who cannot be reached by land.
