Despite risking their lives constantly in the line of duty, firefighters are deprived of the pay enjoyed by employees of other departments, an analysis of their organograms shows.

Although firefighters have similar qualifications as those in other departments, they work for lower pay, as the department's organisational structure has not been upgraded in four decades.

The last upgrade was in 1983, following up on a commission's recommendation to cater to ever-increasing demands for firefighting and Bangladesh's industrial expansion, said officials.

The extent of discrimination becomes clear when the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) is compared with other departments.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence, with a workforce of 14,515, has 48 first-class positions. In other words, there is one first-class officer for about 300 personnel.

In contrast, the Department of Prisons, with 12,178 staff members, has 306 such posts (one first-class officer for every 40; the Department of Narcotics Control, with 3,059 personnel, has 308 (one for every 10); and the Department of Immigration and Passports, with a workforce of 4,137, has 526 (one for every eight).

One officer who joined the fire service in 2020 having passed the 37th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination was posted as a station officer in the 12th grade of the pay scale. Government employees are divided into 20 grades, with 20 being the lowest rung.

The non-cadre officer said that even if he gets promoted to a senior station officer and then a deputy assistant director he would still remain a second-class officer in the 10th grade.

According to career firefighters, promotion to first-class posts is rare, even after 25 years of service, much of which they spend risking their lives regularly. The disparity, they say, is due to the limited number of first-class positions in the department.

An FSCD officer, unwilling to disclose his identity, said, "Our frustration increases as we remain in second-class positions even after years of service and promotions."

In 2012, the government upgraded the posts of police inspectors to first-class positions and police sub-inspectors to second-class.

But FSCD officers have not seen similar upgradation despite the high-risk nature of their job, he added.

Another officer pointed out that, despite passing the same recruitment tests, FSCD officials remain in second-class positions for much longer while those in immigration and passports or narcotics control are appointed as first-class officers in the 9th grade and receive promotions faster.

An officer said 25 graduates of the 37th BCS had joined the FSCD in the 12th grade, but seven of them later opted for other departments, which they thought were better opportunities.

The others have remained in the fire department as they have become too old to be eligible any more. The low level of interest is apparent from the fact that only 25 had joined the fire

department out of the 79 that the Public Service Commission had nominated.

As none from any other BCS showed interest to join the fire service, the Public Service Commission has to arrange special tests to recruit officials to the FSCD in Grade 12, the officer said.

A deputy assistant director—10th grade officer—leads the fire department in a district while for 22 other departments, the head of a district is an officer between grades four and seven.

A senior station officer (11th grade) and station officer (12th grade) head operations at the sub-district level, while 19 other departments' heads are officers between grades six and nine.

"Our officers experience an inferiority complex, hesitating to speak up or even share what might turn out to be vital input at coordination meetings with officials from other departments. This could disrupt coordination and operations during emergencies," said another officer.

He said the department's 268 warehouse inspectors remain in the same pay grade as senior station officers even after 25 years.

In March 2021, the FSCD forwarded a UNDP report to the home ministry to develop the fire department in line with the growing need and raise the size of the workforce to 31,169.

After the exchange of several letters between the ministry and FSCD and detailed scrutiny, the home ministry finally agreed to create an additional 9,693 posts in October 2023 and forwarded the proposal to the public administration ministry for further processing.

If the government finally approves the new organogram, the FSCD will have 949 first-class posts.

The former head of the fire department, Brigadier General Md Main Uddin, wrote to the home ministry last year, advocating for upgrades in FSCD ranks. He noted that while other heads of institutions within the Security Services Division, were officers of grades two or one, the fire department head was a grade three officer.

The DG's letter outlined these disparities and proposed that district-level FSCD officer posts be upgraded to deputy director in Grade 6.

The letter also suggested promoting senior station officers and warehouse inspectors to first-class posts in Grade 9.